Being A Stark
by Ramore361
Summary: One-shot series about Tony and his daughter. Involves different time periods each chapter/event and requests from reviewers will form the different chapters. The series comes from my other story 'A Change' but can be followed if you haven't read that story. Rated in case of future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Juggling Life**

Being a father was never going to be easy for Tony Stark. Not when his company was the leading manufacturer of weapons around the world and he was one of the most famous billionaires, but it was proving to be much more of a struggle than he thought when he became a single parent. All his life, Stark Industries was his priority, and now he had something that took over all of that immediately, his daughter. She was his number one everything, nothing came before her, and he was determined to keep that promise.

It had been working out pretty well until one day there was so much that needed to be done that it was causing Tony to have headaches and become frustrated.

"Board meeting is being held at 2.30pm Mr. Stark." The voice came over the intercom, interrupting his thought process as he scribbled onto a sheet of paper.

"I'll be there at three." Tony replied.

"Mr. Stane is here."

Tony sighed. "Tell him I'm-" the door to his office swung open. "...busy."

"Tony," Obadiah ran his hand over his hairless head. "This has gotta stop."

Over by the side, Rebecca lay silently on the couch with her favorite stuffed animal and a pile of children's books next to her. Tony tried to avoid bringing her into the office as much as possible, usually working from home since he made prototypes and designs, but on days like this like this when he needed to be at the office, there was no option.

"And by that you mean..." Tony raised his eyebrow. He already knew Obadiah didn't like him bringing Rebecca into the office with him, he never really got any work done, but Tony always shot back with the whole 'it's my company, my name on the building, my rules.' It was clear Obadiah wasn't a 'kid' person, but he would just have to deal with it.

"You need some time off." Obadiah spoke softly, almost sympathetically. "You're not coping."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I just_ had_ time off, I only just got _back_."

"Well it wasn't long enough, obviously. You can't possibly get this much work done and be a father too, Tony. You need help."

Tony looked over to Rebecca, making sure she was content before turning back to his sketches and scribbles. "Who makes the weapons here? Me. It'll be done Obi. Is that all?"

Obadiah sighed, clearly not getting anywhere with this conversation. "There's a board meeting-"

"At two thirty, yeah I know." Tony cut in.

"So you'll be there?"

Tony shrugged. "I might make an appearance."

Obadiah leant down on the table. "Just think about it. Maybe a day-care or a nanny, I don't know."

"Nope." Tony spoke definitely, not looking away from his paper. "Is that all? I've got work to do."

* * *

"How about we go get some ice-cream?" Happy bent down to Rebecca's level as she sat on the couch.

Tony had been working frantically all day to finish what needed to be done for the board meeting, and Rebecca had been sitting quietly on the couch scribbling in her own books and reading. Tony stopped what he was doing and looked over.

"Yes!" she beamed, scooting herself off the couch. "Can I?" Rebecca looked up to her dad when she remembered she had to ask before going somewhere.

"Yeah, have fun." Tony smiled to his daughter. "Hey Happy,"

"Yeah boss?" Happy walked over, waiting for Rebecca to pull on her shoes anyway.

"I've got a meeting at three..." he pulled a face.

Happy nodded. "No problem, you want me to take care of her for a while?"

Tony sighed. "It's just this meeting, just this once."

"Hey, I don't mind. She loves spending time with Uncle Happy." he smiled proudly. "I'll take her back home after, you okay to get back?"

"Yeah, no problem." Tony nodded. "Thank you, really, this helps a lot."

"Really, I don't mind, I actually enjoy my little bonding time with her." Happy walked toward the door and Rebecca grabbed his hand to hold as they left.

An hour had passed when there was a knock at his door, and he was so concentrated on his work that he didn't even bother to answer.

"Mr. Stark?" The door pushed open to reveal one of the receptionists. "I have...something for you." Tony still didn't look up. "It's important."

"What is it?" he asked in an annoyed tone. The woman didn't say anything, she just awkwardly searched for the words to explain, but Tony was too frustrated to deal it. "It mustn't be as important as you say then. If you have something for me, put it on my desk, if not stop standing there and go."

The woman walked over slowly, intimidated by Tony's firm voice, and sat the forms down on his desk. "It's from...K-Katherine, Mr. Stark."

Tony immediately stopped what he was doing and looked up at the woman with wide eyes.

"She was _here_?" he asked with a serious tone. "She was in this building, just now?"

"Possibly, Mr. Stark, these were on my desk when I got back from my break."

Tony picked up the papers that were enclosed in a full envelope and separated them to read. The woman left the room quickly, not wanting to experience his reaction to whatever those papers contained.

_"I've signed all of the forms, they're all yours now. I won't be in contact with either of you again after this, I'm sorry."_

The handwriting made Tony's heart best faster, it was Katherine's perfect cursive letters, and it was the last time he'd see them. He sat down the tiny note from her and continued to lift up another form to read. Tony panicked when he saw the bold writing at the top of the page, certain words only standing out to him.

"_Custody of the child."_

He read further trying to figure out what was going on. Why would Katherine leave them, and then want full custody of their daughter? It made no sense, and soon Tony found out the real reason behind the forms.

_"...full custody of Rebecca Maria Stark, is to the father of the child, Anthony Stark."_

Tony's eyes skimmed along the pages, seeing that Katherine had signed all of the appropriate spots and ensured that she would no longer be involved in her daughter's life. The only spots left now were Tony's signatures, but his mind was in no place to read through the pages of the agreement which seemed to outline Tony being fully responsible for Rebecca and Katherine being only recognized as her biological mother.

Tony thought he knew this woman, he loved her, they had a family. When she left, the only thought in Tony's mind was that it was because of him. Rebecca had done nothing wrong, she was only three years old, she barely had time to know her mother before she decided to take off and leave them. All of that love, all of that respect that Tony once held for this woman, it was all gone once those custody forms were in front of him and he discovered she wanted nothing to do with their daughter. She was his responsibility, and he was never going to leave her like Katherine had, never.

* * *

Tony walked through the door back home, exhausted from his day of work at the office and going to the board meeting he couldn't get out of, and to add to that the turmoil of discovering Katherine had completely cut all ties with her daughter. He was relieved that Happy had taken Rebecca home and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon.

When he walked into the living room, Happy was sitting on the couch watching the sports channel on mute, signaling for Tony to be quiet.

"She's asleep." he whispered, thinking even the sound of a pin dropping would wake her.

Tony nodded, setting his handful of files down. "Thanks Happy."

"No problem boss, always here to help." Happy gathered his coat and prepared to leave, but he stopped next to Tony and gave him a sincere look. "You're not handling this well, are you?"

"I'm fine." Tony shook his head. "It was just a busy day."

"And what happens when there's another busy day?" Happy wondered. "You need help Tony."

"I don't need help, I need people to stop telling_ me_ how to be a father." Tony spoke firmly, annoyed at the amount of people insisting he couldn't do this alone.

"Okay boss," Happy nodded, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry. I'll see you tomorrow."

"No, not tomorrow."

Happy looked confused. "No?"

"I'm not going in tomorrow, or the next day, or at all. I'll be working from here. I'm not doing this again, I _won't_ put weapons before my daughter." he explained.

Happy nodded, a smile playing at his lips at his boss's reasoning. "You know I support anything you choose to do, parent-wise Tony, I'm always here for you two.''

* * *

Tony walked into Rebecca's room, admiring the sight of his daughter laying peacefully on her bed. It want until he moved closer that he realized he was awake.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" Tony asked softly as he sat on the edge of her bed.

"I can't sleep." she mumbled tiredly.

Tony felt so guilty having been at the office for so long, and he hated to admit it, but everyone was right. He couldn't keep doing this, he couldn't keep putting her through this.

"I'm sorry, I've been doing too much work." he pushed her hair back from her face. "Some people think we need help."

"Is...that because...mommy's gone?" she asked in a soft tone, not wanting to upset her dad. She was only three, but she had seen how sad he was when her mother left and she didn't like reminding him.

Tony nodded, being honest. "Yeah, but we're okay, aren't we?" he held his arm around her. "We're fine, you and me." Rebecca nodded, a small smile on her lips. "Yeah, we're gonna be just fine."

Rebecca snuggled into her dad's side, getting comfortable, and Tony closed his eyes as he lay back on the bed. It was moments like this where he didn't even care about the company, or the amount of work that needed to be done, or all of the media and reports he was supposed to worry about. Nothing mattered more to him that Rebecca, and when he held her safely in his arms, nothing worried him any more.

* * *

**Okay, so this is the first one-shot for this series, and I hope you guys liked it. I'm going to just play around with different times in their relationship, just exploring what happened in those sixteen years before "A Change". This is where your reviews are really important because I really want you guys to suggest/request different events or situations that you might like to read about so I can write for you all. I will be updating this pretty much whenever I finish a piece, which I'm usually good at updating fast, but if I'm a bit slow it's because my full stories will by priority and I'm currently finishing off the first chapter to the sequel to "A Change" which will be up very soon! Thank you for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy them. Please review with suggestions or requests!**


	2. Chapter 2

**House Guests**

"Good morning Miss. Stark." Jarvis's voice boomed, pulling her from her sleep. "It's currently 7.15am, the weather is neutral and you are due to begin your study in the next hour-"

"Mute." Rebecca groaned, rolling onto her back on the bed.

Jarvis had changed the windows to let all natural light into the room, and the rays were burning through her eyelids, forcing her to roll over and flick the switch to turn them back to night mode. As the light dimmed and the room became dark once again, she felt herself drifting off back to sleep.

"I'm sorry Miss. Stark, but you have informed me to ensure you awake before 7.30am, it's now 7.17am." Jarvis's voice came back, and soon enough the light was back in her eyes.

Rebecca threw the blankets off her face and rolled out of bed, landing on her hands and knees as she crawled to the bathroom below the rays of light penetrating ink the room.

"Stupid artificial intelligence, doesn't even _know_ what it's like to sleep." she muttered to herself as she made it onto the bathroom tiles.

"May I suggest not programming me to wake you when you respond so-"

"Mute."

* * *

Rebecca walked out of her room en route to the kitchen, planning to make some breakfast before her studying was to start for her latest degree. As she walked past the staircase, she could hear her dad blasting music at maximum volume, and at this hour of the morning, that usually meant he was avoiding something. Most likely Pepper since he needed to do some serious paper work.

Rebecca pulled out a bowl and a box of cereal while juggling the milk in her hands, walking to the other side of the counter to sit and eat. Just as she finished filling the bowl with Cap'n Crunch, she heard a woman's voice from the hallway.

"Tony?" The feminine voice called out, looking around the corners of the house.

Rebecca's ears pricked at the unfamiliar voice and sat the milk down, turning on her stool. The woman continued to call out, becoming louder as she approached the kitchen. Rebecca was sure she did not know the voice, and she was determined to find out who was in her house at such as hour.

Her feet padded softly over the tiles in the kitchen as she made her way to the living room that connected to the hallway. To her horror, the woman was standing next to the couch in nothing but underwear and a crumpled dress shirt. Rebecca didn't say anything, she didn't want to be the first to speak, and so the other woman thankfully did.

"Hi..." she awkwardly pulled at her shirt, trying to transform it into a dress. "I'm a little lost."

Rebecca pulled a face, still not sure how to approach the situation. She hoped so badly that either Pepper would walk into the room and handle everything or her dad would emerge from the workshop and explain, but she continued to stand there alone.

"Okay..." Rebecca responded, looking around the room. "What exactly are you looking for?"

"You must be Tony's kid." The woman spoke, looking at Rebecca with wide eyes. "I knew he had a daughter. Gosh, you sure do look like him. Your eyes...perfect match. That's crazy.

Rebecca awkwardly forced a smile. "Well, considering he_ is_ my dad...it's not too crazy."

The woman shrugged happily. "I guess not. Anyway, um..."

Rebecca hated this entire situation, she just wanted it to be over. She only needed the fewest details, which were right in front of her to see, to realize what had happened and why this woman was wandering her house almost naked.

"So how old are you?" The woman asked, giving up on hiding her shirt down and now Rebecca could see her underwear in full.

"I'm..uh, I'm fourteen." Rebecca looked at the woman's face, ignoring the fact she was wearing very little clothing in her house. She had already thought of at least ten things she needed to clean in the living room that the woman had touched with the sides of her legs. "Okay...so I'm gonna leave now..."

"Wait," The woman called out softy before Rebecca had backed out of the room. "Could you at least tell me where I could shower?"

Rebeca narrowed her eyes. "In the bathroom...where the shower is."

She knew she was being rude to this unexpected guest, but she really wasn't okay with the fact this woman was barely dressed and felt she could just talk to the daughter of the man she had just spent the night with so easily.

"Uh huh, and where would I find the bathroom?" she asked with a giggle, trying to pretend that the fourteen year old was not just rude to her.

"There's a bathroom in my dad's bedroom," Rebecca put her hands on her hips. "I trust you know where _that_ is." she held back a cringe as she spoke.

"My uh...clothes have been taken." The woman bit down on her lip, looking for an explanation that Rebecca didn't have. "I think the maid must've taken them, do you think I could get those back?"

Rebecca looked at the woman expressionless. She hated when people referred to Pepper as a 'maid', absolutely hated it, and especially from this woman standing before her. She felt so violated that this woman had come into her home, and then walked around close to naked when Rebecca was in the house and them refer to Pepper as a house maid.

"We don't have a maid." Rebecca spoke bluntly. "As for your clothes, I suggest if you don't want to_ lose_ them so easily, you shouldn't take them _off_."

With that said, Rebecca left the room and headed back to the kitchen. She definitely wasn't a fan of this woman in her house, and she waited for her to retreat back to Tony's room before she marched downstairs.

* * *

"Hey, the music, don't touch!" Tony whined as the volume died down.

Rebecca ignored him and walked over, taking the tool straight from his hands so he would pay attention.

"Why is there a_ half naked_ woman walking around upstairs?" she asked, and she watched as Tony's expression changed, looking away from her.

"I don't usually bring women back he-" Tony tried to defend himself before Rebecca held her hand up to silence him.

"No, never mind, I know _why_ she's here, I'm not five." she rolled her eyes. "But I'm trying to eat my breakfast!"

"I didn't know you would be up, I forgot about your study times." Tony looked around, trying to find an escape to this conversation. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought her back here. I didn't think she'd stay the whole night, I didn't mean to...I didn't mean for_ you_ to...see that."

Rebecca knew her dad refrained from having relationships because of her, because he always put her first. She knew her dad was known for a playboy lifestyle as well, but to her that was all a private life that she wasn't involved in, and she was happy with that.

"Look, I'm fourteen, you might think I have no idea about...stuff...but on the contrary, I do." Rebecca shook her head at how she was the one giving this speech. "I don't care _what_ you do or who it's with, but I like to wake up and eat my Cap'n Crunch in peace, okay? Not talking to...woman like that."

Tony nodded his head and agreed enthusiastically, hoping this conversation was ending as it was making him uncomfortable.

"No, I got that, dually noted." he nodded again.

"Okay...that's all I have to say. Let's not speak about this again."

"Let's not." Tony agreed. "And I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

"Yes you will." Rebecca rolled her eyes. "I just don't want any part of it."

Tony dropped his gaze back to the floor. "But I really am sorry."

"I know that."

"Is she gone?" he asked, looking back up to her.

"No, she asked me where she could find a shower." Rebecca put her hands on her hips as she remembered how dumb the woman seemed.

"Hmm." Tony pulled a face, turning back to his work. "Think I'll stay down here a while longer."

Tony listened closely for the door to click shut behind Rebecca for him to turn his music back on, and instead he was startled by the light throwing of his tool hitting his back.

"Ow!" he pouted. "What was that for?"

Tony turned around just in time to see Rebecca walking back out behind the glass door, pulling a disgusted face at him and rolling her eyes. She really hoped the woman was gone, but she just decided she'd take her Cap'n Crunch and go eat in her room in hopes she wouldn't see her again.

* * *

**Okay, this one was my first requested one-shot, and I really hope I did okay, and really hope I didn't disappoint. If you'd like to see any particular scenes, moments or events just leave a review and I'll make sure I get to it. I know I haven't included Pepper yet, so hopefully she will be in the next update, sorry! Thanks for reading! x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Never Grow Up**

"Katherine?" Tony called out when he walked inside the house, realizing it was silent.

Another day at Stark Industries, another day of cameras in his face every time he walked outside. It was nice to come home where there were no cameras and no microphones being shoved in his face, where he could just relax with his family. The house was toasty warm as the winter months were beginning to creep in.

_Sleeping, don't feel good. Rebecca is in her crib for her nap._

Tony picked up the note and read it to himself before letting it float back down to the counter. He looked down the hallway to his bedroom and seen that the door was shut, which meant Katherine was still sleeping. Tony walked over to the door next to theirs, which was already opened halfway so they could hear Rebecca, and he walked inside. The room was a mirage of pink and whites, and just off to the side was a white crib which was being clung to by the hands of a baby girl who was watching her dad closely.

"Hey kiddo," Tony's smile instantly grew wide as he reached his arms down to pick her up. "Have a good nap?" his hands stroked her chubby cheeks and made her giggle. "I'll take that as a yes."

Tony carried Rebecca out into the living room and sat her down on her little blanket, surrounding her with toys as he sat down with her, crossing his legs. This was his favorite thing to do by far, just sitting with his daughter and watching her laugh and play. Ever since she was born, he just couldn't get enough of that little smiled that played at her lips every time he saw her. She had a wide vocabulary of words at her young, all barely qualifying as actually words. Tony always prided himself with the fact that her first word, the word that made his heart warm every time he heard it, was 'Dada'.

"No, no, we don't eat those." Tony took away the block that she had up against her mouth. It wasn't small enough for her to swallow, but he tried to get her out of that habit early. "Nuh uh." he shook his head.

"Nuh uh." she repeated, shaking her head in response.

Tony smiled. "That's right."

He laughed as she continued to repeat 'nuh uh' for a while longer, shaking her head as she copied her dad. Tony reached his hand out to play with her tiny fingers, and she grabbed on as tight as she could, trying to pull herself up.

"You wanna get up?" Tony held her hands and lifted her up, setting her on her feet and supporting her weight with his hands. "There you go."

Rebecca giggled loudly at the sensation of standing on her own as Tony would move his hands away for the shortest of moments, but her excitement got the best of her and she began to sway, leading Tony to steady her.

"Almost got it." he encouraged, grinning at her overwhelming glee. "Again?"

Rebecca watched closely as her dad's hands slowly pulled away, leaving her standing on her own. She laughed loudly and enthusiastically, her eyes glowing with excitement.

"Yeah!" Tony clapped. "You're doing it!"

Just as Tony began to see her body sway again, thinking she was going to fall, her leg quickly darted out in front and supported her weight. It was far from a first step, but every achievement was worth celebrating and Tony clapped wildly.

"Look at you!" he cooed, and Rebecca had had enough of her achievements so far, collapsing into his arms and he held her high up in the air. "God, soon you'll be running around everywhere, and I'll have to baby proof even_ more_ stuff."

Rebecca reached her little hand out and touched his nose, pushing on it playfully as he did hers. This resulted in another violent fit of laughter, her mouth opening wide to show her growing baby teeth.

"Dada!" she squealed he lowered her back to the ground, settling her in on his lap as she clung to his fingers, her thin, brown locks of hair all messy.

"Can you say Becca?" he pointed to her. "Bec-ca." he sounded out. Rebecca's mouth turned in as he thought to herself, before pointing at her chest. "You. Bec-ca." he encouraged.

"B-" she began, and seeing the look of anticipation in her dad's eyes she grew another smile before speaking again. "B-ec-"

"..._ca_." Tony encouraged, excited to hear her say her name.

"B-...nuh uh." she laughed, rolling back on to the floor with laughter.

Tony couldn't help pulling his lips into a smile, her laughter was contagious, and she soon found himself laughing as well, watching as Rebecca reached out to grab his hands again.

She was growing so fast, it was as if he'd blink and she'd be running around the house. The next minute she would be going to school, driving a car, going to college, university, getting a job, moving out, getting married and having kids. He didn't like thinking of those things, he didn't want to think of her in any other way than the little baby girl in front of him, always.

"You're not allowed to grow up, got it?" Tony picked her up and held her close to his chest. "No _boys_ either, they're no good, none of them. No cranky teenager girl either, I don't want you to hate me. Just _stay_ the way you are, okay?" he looked down at her, staring back up at him with big, cute eyes. "My little girl."

Tony heard footsteps in the kitchen behind him, and he turned to see Katherine opening the fridge door.

"You missed it." Tony called out. "She _almost_ took a step, and she _almost_ said her name."

Katherine smiled and walked over to sit on the couch next to the two of them with a bottle of water. She enjoyed watching them bond, they had this strong connection between them, they just weren't the same when they were apart.

"As long as she can say 'mama'." Katherine commented.

Tony looked back to Rebecca and held her up, facing her mother. "Say 'mama', hmm? Go on." he encouraged. "Ma-ma."

Rebecca had already said it plenty of times, and she was happy to say it again.

"Mama!" she yelled.

Katherine lit up with a smile and clapped her hands loudly. "That's it bubba! You're so clever."

Tony smiled and lifted Rebecca over to lean on her mother's knee for support. She slowly climbed to her feet and reached up to her mothers arms. Katherine reached her arms down and lifted Rebecca onto her lap.

"You're so beautiful." Katherine kissed Rebecca's head, brushing her hair down with her fingers. "All the boys will be pining for you when you're older."

"Nope, no boys." Tony shook his head, crawling over to the two girls. "Not for a long time, and by that I mean _never_."

Rebecca took her mouth off of the water bottle in her mother's hands and reached out and touched her dad's face before laughing. "Nuh uh."

"Exactly. Boys? Nuh uh." he pulled a funny face, resulting in a squeal of laughter from his daughter and Katherine chuckling at her response.

It was times like this Tony knew his life was perfect, he had everything. Sure, he and Katherine weren't married, but to him marriage was barely necessary when they were already a family. It would happen one day though, it was bound to.

* * *

**I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I wanted to include Katherine in this because I wanted to clarify that she wasn't a bad mother or didn't want Rebecca. I thought I'd play around with this little idea of their happy family, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. Anything you want to read about or a specific moment, just review and let me know, I'll get to it ASAP. Also, my sequel "I Am Iron Man" is up if you guys would like to check it out, the second chapter is up now. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sick**

Tony had dealt with a lot after becoming a single parent to a three year old daughter, but now that she was in school at the age of six, dealing with a call from the school office was not something he knew how to handle yet.

"Is this Mr...uh, Tony Stark?" The woman on the phone seemed taken aback that she was calling the man she had heard about on the news.

"Mr. Stark is currently in a meeting, can I take a message?" Pepper casually lied, but Tony hated getting phone calls, and she picked up a pen and put it to paper.

"It's about his daughter, Rebecca." The woman explained. "I'm afraid she's come down rather ill and needs to be taken home."

"Hold on, I'll put you through to Mr. Stark now." Pepper told her quickly, pressing a button on the intercom and switching the phone line to Tony's in his office where he was drawing up prototypes.

"Please tell me this is worth answering." Tony asked Pepper over the intercom, his hand resting above the ringing phone.

"It's the school, Tony, about Rebecca." Pepper informed him, and she could hear his finger come off the intercom, the ringing ceasing a second later.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" he asked eagerly, thoughts running through his mind of what to expect.

"It's Rebecca. She's quite sick at the moment, it would be best if you came and collected her from school today, she's too unwell." The woman explained.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked in a worried tone. She seemed fine this morning, even ate all of her breakfast and couldn't wait for Tony to take her.

"She's got quiet a fever, and she's gone very pale. We've got her in the nurses room lying down, but I think it's best you come get her, she'd be much better off at home."

"I'm on my way." Tony hung up the phone, grabbing his keys off of the table and choosing to drive himself. He didn't even stop to consider his work schedule for the day, that didn't even matter to him now.

* * *

"Where is she?" Tony walked up to the office window at the school, a worried look on his face as he tried to look behind the desk for the nurses room.

The woman looked down at the paper in front of her. "Mr. Stark. Correct?"

Tony nodded, still looking for the door. "How is she?"

"She says her tummy hurts." The woman began sorting the paper in front of her, filling out the information. "It might be a common school bug, all children around that age experience it, but just to be on the safe side, she should go home and rest." Then she slid the paper toward him, sitting a pen on top. "Just sign here Mr. Stark."

Tony signed automatically, not even looking at the scribble that he made instead of an actual signature. The nurse then walked out from around the corner with Rebecca by her side, rubbing her eyes. She did look rather pale, all signs of those rosy cheeks gone and her expression was less than her usual cheery self.

"How are you kiddo?" Tony bent down, putting his arms on either side of her shoulders. "Not feeling too good?"

Rebecca shook her head sadly, a frown on her face as she rubbed her tummy. Tony hated seeing her like that, and he hated that he couldn't take away her pain with a kiss and a hug, instead he just had to do his best to help her.

"It's okay, we'll go home now." he pulled her close, picking her up and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "Thanks ladies." he picked up Rebecca's little pink backpack and slung it over his free shoulder.

After he Rebecca in the back seat and strapped her into her little seat safely, he pulled out his phone and hit speed-dial #1 - Pepper Potts.

"Yes Mr. Stark?" she answered professionally.

"Yeah, Pepper, listen I won't be going back to the office today."

"Is everything okay with Rebecca?" she asked worriedly.

He was glad he had hired a personal assistant that cared about his daughter, it helped him in trusting her more.

"She's a bit sick, I'm gonna spend the rest of the day at home with her." he told Pepper.

"Well, do you need anything? Any help? I can come over and see what medicine she needs, wait, does she need medicine? I'll come around anyway, and I'm bringing soup for her. Does she like chicken noodle?" Pepper rambled.

Tony smiled to himself. "Uh, yeah, yeah that's perfect."

* * *

Tony carried Rebecca through the door and down the hallway to her bedroom, setting her little bag down in the comer, and laid her down on her bed. Once he helped her get her shoes off and change into her pajamas, he tucked her into bed nice and cosy, setting up her toy animals around her.

"There you go." he gave her a smile, resting his hand to her forehead. "Hmm, still burning up."

"I feel bad." she whined, frowning again. "My tummy hurts."

Tony's heart almost broke at the sound of her fragile voice, hearing the pain in it. He didn't know what to do. Usually when she had been sick it was a cold or headache and he knew how to help those, but a tummy ache, he didn't know how to fix. Luckily, Pepper showed up not long after.

"Oh, sweetie," she walked over to Rebecca in bed and put her hand on her forehead as Tony had, not impressed with it's temperature. "You sure are sick, aren't you?"

Rebecca nodded her head softly. "I don't feel good."

Pepper hated the look of her like this just as Tony did, and she vowed to stay until she knew Rebecca was better than she was now.

"I'm going to go get you a bowl of nice, warm soup, okay?" Pepper brushed her hair back before walking out of the room, followed by Tony.

"What can I do to help her?" Tony asked, kind of upset at himself for not knowing how to help his daughter. "I don't know what to do for this one Pepper."

Pepper sat the soup she had brought with her on the stove to warm as she turned back to Tony. She knew he'd do anything for Rebecca and understood his this whole situation pained him.

"There's nothing you_ can_ do, Tony." Pepper told him honestly. "It's a school bug, all kids get it. It's a time thing, it will wear off in a few hours most likely. She just needs some rest and a full stomach."

Tony nodded, understanding what he was being told. "Okay, that's good." he looked over to the soup Pepper was stirring, and a thought came to mind. "How do you know about this stuff?"

"About what exactly?" she seemed confused.

"You know, _kids_. You always know how to cheer her up or make her feel better." Tony wondered. "Especially when I can't."

Pepper stopped stirring the soup and turned to face Tony, now knowing how he felt.

"When can you ever not cheer that little girl up? You always bring a smile to her face, even when she's crying, because you're her dad. You've got to understand that there are things you can't fix, like this, you just have to be there for her, okay?" Pepper made sure he looked at her when she spoke so he got the message. "And don't think she doesn't still admire you because you can't make this go away, because she does. This is just what comes with being a parent. There are things you can fix, and things that you just have no control over."

By the end of her speech to Tony, she had ladled out a small bowl of soup for Rebecca, just warm enough.

"See? You're so good at making people feel better." Tony smiled.

"Well, happy to." Pepper grinned back at him. "Now, go take this to your daughter."

Tony took the bowl of chicken noodle soup and carried in to Rebecca's room where she sat propped up in the bed, watching the doorway for someone to return.

"Here you go, you can thank Pepper for this." he sat the soup on top on a pillow and put it in front of her.

"Thank you Pepper." she spoke softly to the woman standing against the door frame behind Tony.

"You're welcome sweetie." Pepper smiled back, glad she was enjoying it. "I'll be in the living room doing some paper work, let me know if you need anything."

Rebecca finished off the small bowl of soup and handed it back to Tony, laying back down in her bed. She was tired, it was obvious in her eyes, and she just wanted to fall asleep under the warm blankets now that her tummy was beginning to stop aching.

"Daddy?" she called when he walked back in from the kitchen.

"Yeah?" he walked over to beside her bed. "What's wrong?"

"Will you stay here with me? Until I fall asleep." she asked in her soft voice.

Tony smiled and pulled the blankets up further to tuck her in again. "I sure will."

So Rebecca's breathing turned into soft snores as she lay in her dark room, thanks to the dimming, and her dad next to her, laying his own head on a pillow as he was content with knowing she was okay. A whole later Pepper walked past the door and couldn't help stop and admire what she was looking at. Rebecca, fast asleep in her dad's arms as he too was in a slumber. It was by far the most heart warming thing she had seen in a while, and if her respect for Tony as a father wasn't high enough already, it certainly was now, seeing just how dedicated to that little girl he really was.

* * *

**Well I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I involved Pepper with this one because she hasn't been in any others yet and I liked incorporating her into their lives like this. Anyway, if you want to see anything in particular, just review and let me know! I_ really_ hope more of you request things because I'm really worried that I'm writing about things you're not interested in or not what you wanted, so please help me out! Thanks for reading!**

***Note - Third chapter of the sequel,_ 'I Am Iron Man'_, is up now!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Tantrum and Tears**

Rebecca was always a good kid, for the most part, but just like most kids when they reach the four and five year mark, they can be a bit hard to handle, and harder to please, luckily Tony never had to deal with that yet.

Tony's parenting method, however, allowed him to bypass any need for Rebecca to get upset or grumpy. He had everything a kid could want, even though she wasn't a material child, but they never had those sort of problems. Today, on the other hand, was different, and it was a whole new experience for them.

Tony had taken her along with him to one of the board fundraisers for Stark Industries, and it was being held at a park for other members to bring their kids to as well. It was called the Family Day Out Fundraiser, and Tony thought everything was going fine.

"Daddy," Rebecca's voice came from behind him, and he turned to see her standing there waiting for him.

"What's up? Thought you were playing with your friends." Tony knelt down, ignoring the conversation he was in the middle of with one of the men.

"They're not my friends." she grumbled. "I want to go home."

Tony seemed taken aback, she was having such a good time all day. "What? Why?"

"I just want to." she looked away from him. "I want to go."

Tony sighed. "Well, we can't go. I could call Happy-"

"No!" she stamped her feet. "No, I want you _and_ me to go home."

Tony still didn't understand where her sudden desire to leave was coming from. He had only just looked over to check on her and she was laughing with all of the other children on the playground.

"I can't leave, Bec. I need to be here for the fundraiser." he explained. "Why do you want to go home?"

"I just do! I want to go home!" she raised her voice.

"Hey, stop it." he walked her over to a spot so they could talk. "What's gotten into you?" Rebecca scowled and crossed her arms, looking away from her dad who was waiting for her to answer him. "Bec? Hey, listen to me."

"Why can't we go home? I don't like it here." she asked yet again.

Tony sighed. "I told you Bec, I can't leave yet, this is the company's fundraiser, I need to be here."

Rebecca held her arms tightly folded and huffed. "I want to go."

"Well, you can't." he was getting frustrated having to explain that so much.

"But I _want_ to go!" she yelled.

"Stop yelling!" he scolded, appalled at how quickly her attitude had changed over the last five minutes.

"I'll go home by_ myself_ then." she challenged. "I'll walk_ all_ the way."

"No you won't." he shook his head, but she took a few steps toward the path to lead her home, just before the gate. "Don't you walk out that gate Rebecca!"

Tony didn't call her Rebecca often, it was usually Bec or Beccy on occasion, and she knew when he called her that, she was either in trouble or about to be in trouble.

"I wanna go home!" she stamped her feet, clenching her fists in a fit of frustration. "I want to go home!"

"Well you can't always get what you want." he told her, hating that he had to resort to the whole 'firm voice parenting' role.

"You're a meanie!" she accused him, turning her heels and storming off to the other side of the playground to sit by herself.

Tony watched as she picked handfuls of the green grass and chucked it to the side angrily, repeating to process. All Tony could think was why she had acted that way. She was never kid for tantrums, she always just understood. He ran his fingers through his hair, taking a deep breath.

"Girl trouble?" a man came up beside him as Tony observed Rebecca. "Don't worry, my daughter has little tantrums all the time, especially when we take her out. It's just the way it is for girls."

Tony nodded. "Mm, I guess. Probably a phase, hope it doesn't last long."

The man chuckled. "Good one, Stark!"

* * *

It had been over an hour since Rebecca had stormed off on her dad, and she was still sitting in the shade next to the playground, trying to ignore the other children's laughter and squeals of fun. She didn't mean to yell at her dad, she hated being mean, and she had called him the meanie.

"Hey," Tony's voice caused her to look up at her dad approaching. "Brought you some lunch." he say down the sandwich on the plastic plate, crossing his legs as he sat beside her and joined in on picking the grass.

"I'm sorry I called you a meanie." she whispered miserably, pulling more grass from the ground. "You're not a meanie."

Tony smiled lightly. "That's okay."

"And that I yelled at you." she continued, still looking at the ground.

"Wanna tell me what it was all about?" he asked, thinking he'd try his luck.

The last thing he wanted was a daughter like everyone had told him about. One that bottled up all her feelings and resented her parents, especially the father, and had huge tantrums and screamed and was an all-round nightmare to live with.

Rebecca still didn't look up at him, but she did speak. "Everyone else's mommy's are here." she picked up another handful of grass. "I just want to go home."

Then Tony realized, she was jealous of all the other kids. Events like these family ones always seemed to get her down, but not like this, she must've been having a hard day with it now that she had some friends within the company and she had to sit by and watch them with their mothers.

"Hey, don't let it upset you like this, I know it's hard." he reached out and lifted her chin to look up at him.

"Mommy didn't like me, did she? That's why she's not coming back." Rebecca sniffled.

Tony's mouth fell open, hardly allowing himself to believe what she had just said. "No! God, absolutely not! Bec, don't you ever, _ever_ think that your mom left because of you, ever. This wasn't your fault, and she loved you very much." he explained passionately, holding her hands. "Your mom...she needed to go, for _herself_, and I know it would've hurt her so much to leave such a beautiful little girl behind."

Rebecca had tears in her eyes, and Tony pulled her in for a hug when they spilled over.

"Don't leave me too, daddy." she sobbed. "Please."

Tony closed his eyes tightly, trying not to lose it as he comforted her, running her back soothingly. He didn't know how to explain to her how much she meant to him, and how he could never do what Katherine had done, despite whatever her reasons were.

"Never, ever, ever." he promised. "Ever."

Rebecca clung to her dad's shirt as he picked her up, walking out to the path and out the gate. Once she looked up from his shirt, she noticed they were walking home through the park and along the quiet streets, leaving the fundraiser behind. Tony noticed she wasn't crying anymore and lifted her onto his shoulders, which he knew she loved since she could feel like a giant.

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously.

"Home." Tony said happily. "Go make a big bowl of popcorn and watch our favorite cartoons."

Rebecca lit up with a smile. "Really?"

"Really."

"I love you dad." she leant down an rested her head on top of his as he walked.

"I love you too kiddo."

* * *

**Oh god, I hope you all liked this chapter. I got a review mentioning Rebecca having a tantrum, and I thought I'd combine two different things, a tantrum and just fluff. I was thinking of how to resolve it...and then I made it kinda sad. I hope it was okay, and not too predictable or boring. This one kinda got me because I couldn't pick the age to make Rebecca and I didn't know what to make the tantrum over, but hopefully this was okay. I'm sorry if you didn't enjoy it or was expecting something else. Anyway, pleas continue to review with whatever you guys want to see written because I really like taking your suggestions! Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Boys**

Tony waited outside of the classroom blocks to pick Rebecca up from school. Although it was a hassle for him to even go out in public due to the amount of cameras, reporters and journalists that bothered him, most of the parents and teachers at the private school respected his wished to be just like everyone else and collect his daughter from school.

The school bell rung moment later, and it was seconds before the playground fields and corridors were full of children rushing to find their parents and go home. Tony spotted Rebecca coming out of classroom and waved so she'd see him. Beside her was a boy, about the same age, and they were giggling and talking together shyly, saying goodbye. Rebecca then ran over to her dad with her backpack on and grabbed his hand to begin walking out.

"Who was that?" Tony asked as they walked toward the car where Pepper was standing, waiting for them.

"Dylan." she answered, skipping along next to her dad.

"Is he your friend?"

"He's my _boy_friend." she announced, running over to give Pepper a hug.

"Hey there sweetie," Pepper laughed. "Have a good day at school?"

"Yep!" Rebecca nodded, climbing into the backseat.

Tony's expression was still shocked as he walked over to Pepper next to the car.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, appalled.

Pepper narrowed her eyes. "Hear what?"

"Rebecca." he clarified. "She has a boyfriend."

"Oh, right, _that_." Pepper nodded, catching onto what he was saying. "I should have known you'd be a bit like this."

Tony's eyes widened. "You _knew_?"

Pepper rolled her eyes, laughing at his seriousness. "She told me the other day, his name's Dylan."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was up to Rebecca. And it's nothing, really." she defended. "Why are you getting to upset over this?"

"I'm not upset." he shook his head before realising Pepper's expression. "Fine, I'm a little..._bothered_...that my six year old daughter has a boyfriend."

"It's just puppy love. All kids have play boyfriends and stuff like that, don't get ahead of yourself." Pepper explained.

"You two getting in the car or...?" Happy stuck his head out of the window at Pepper and Tony.

"Sorry Happy, we're coming now." Pepper chuckled lightly again at Tony's reaction before getting into the backseat.

* * *

"So, are you going to tell me about Dylan?" Tony asked as they began the drive home.

Rebecca looked up at her dad. "He's really funny, and once he climbed all the way to the top of the swings and hung upside down!" she boasted.

Tony turned straight to Pepper then. "Did you _hear_ that?" he asked in a shock tone. "He's a daredevil, she's dating a daredevil."

"Tony..." Pepper shook her head disapprovingly. "Well I bet he's lucky to have you." she smiled at Rebecca.

"Whose side are you on?" he whispered to Pepper in disbelief.

"And he gave me this!" Rebecca held up a plastic ring reminiscent of those that you could get from a vending machine. "It's my favorite color!" she held out the little ring on her index finger, showing the green gem in the middle.

Pepper gasped. "That's so pretty!"

"Do you like it dad?" she looked up at him with excitement.

"It's..." his eyes caught onto her happiness, her eyes eagerly waiting for his response, and his attention flickered over to Pepper who gave him a pleading look. "It sure is pretty, he seems like a nice boy."

Rebecca's face lit up with happiness. "He is!"

As Rebecca went back to admiring her little plastic ring, Tony looked over to Pepper who had a warm smile on her lips, happy that he had caught onto how happy and excited Rebecca was. He frowned and looked out the window, waiting to get back home.

* * *

"Cartoons?" Rebecca looked up at her dad eagerly as she put her bag down in the living room.

"Sure." he smiled. "Happy would love to watch them with you."

Happy had a small smile playing at his lips as he walked into the living room as Rebecca rushed in to turn the television on.

"You'd think a grown man wouldn't enjoy children's cartoons, but they're pretty entertaining." he told Tony as he walked past.

"I'll be in the shop." Tony told Pepper, who followed him down there since he ran off too quick for her to even respond.

"Tony," she tried to slow him down, but ended up having to walk through the door behind him. "What is so important?"

Tony sat down on his chair and wheeled it over to the computer which lit up with a hologram in front of him of information.

"What do you think?" he asked. "I'm checking up on this kid, Dylan."

Pepper closed her eyes in frustration. "You've _got_ to be kidding me."

"Hardly."

"Do you realize how _insane_ you sound right now?"

"Oh come on, I'm just doing what any other father would do in this situation." he tried to reason.

"You're looking up background information on a _six year old_ boy." she informed him with a judgemental look. "I really don't think he has a criminal record yet."

"Yet! _Yet_! Aha! I knew you didn't like him either!" Tony caught onto her words.

Pepper sighed. "I meant there is nothing you're going to find on him, this is ridiculous."

"Then I'll try his parents." he answered. "I'm sure they'd be on here."

"You're overreacting." she stated. "A lot."

"Oh, am I now?" he looked at her. "I think as a father I'm allowed to be concerned with who my daughter dates."

"Not when she's six years old and it's _nothing._" Pepper pointed out. "You're seriously taking this too far."

"I can't help it, I need to know who they are and what type of people they are." his attention fixed back on the computer screen. "Then I can sleep peacefully at night."

"It's nothing to worry about. I bet it will all be over soon because he'll take her juice box or she'll...I don't know, beat him at something on the playground." Pepper explained, trying to calm his worry.

"It's starting already, all the dating, and soon partying, sneaking out, driving with boys...she's growing up too quick." he ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back on the chair.

Pepper then understood. "You're worried she won't need her dad anymore." Tony didn't say anything, just continued to sit there. "She's six years old, I'm telling you now, this 'relationship' is not serious, I don't even know how you think it is. And even when she does get old enough to be in a serious relationship, there's not gonna be a time where she won't need you."

"Yes there will be, I've seen it in movies. They hit that age with boys and then they hate their father." he bit his lip.

"That won't happen with you. You're closer than that. I know it won't." she promised. "Now, go upstairs and watch cartoons. Go." she ordered. "Forget about this, and just go."

Tony frowned. "Don't treat me like a drama queen."

"Then don't act like one." she shook her head.

"But I wasn't-"

"Nope, get going." she cut in, pointing at the stairs. "You're banned from here for the rest of the day."

Tony grumbled something as he walked out the door, arms swaying at his side like a child. Pepper couldn't help giggle at his attitude. She sometimes wondered that he was in fact a child himself, his tantrums and complaints, overreactions and hyper-activity. Whatever it was, there was no getting rid of it.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked that! If you have anything else you want to see, just let me know in a review. Thanks for reading! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Halloween**

It was these moments in a child's life where they could really bring out their creativity, their imagination, their wishes to dress up like something spooky, something terrifying or something they've always wanted to be, and although he was a grown man with a six year old daughter, Tony Stark was too one of those children. Halloween was one of his favorite holidays, he loved getting all of the candy and dressing up, although he'd never admit to enjoying wearing the spooky makeup and costumes.

This Halloween however, was shaping up to be Rebecca's favorite. The evening was to begin with Fright Night at her school where the children could run around playing games while the parents all had a barbecue while they supervised and hosted little games. Then, when it hit nightfall, the trick-or-treating began. Rebecca had been excited for days now to dress up and run around with all of the others kids, and she insisted Tony also dress up, as well as Pepper.

"Oh, honey I don't feel like dressing up, I have to work the next day." Pepper sadly declined when Rebecca invited her to her Fright Night.

"Please!" she begged. "You can dress up as a fairy or a princess if you want, it doesn't have to be scary! But...scary is better."

Pepper had been with them now for almost a year, and Rebecca has grown quite attached as children tended to. She insisted Pepper join them on special occasions, even though it made Pepper and Tony look like there relationship was more than professional. Tony didn't care what the media thought though, as long as his daughter was happy.

"C'mon Potts, stop being so professional for once, it's Halloween." Tony joined forces with Rebecca.

Pepper smirked. "Oh, and what does Tony Stark plan on wearing as a costume, huh? Can't go as yourself to this one, can you?"

Rebecca answered that one for him. "This one right here!" she pointed at her little scrapbook she had made as a class activity, showing all of the numerous Halloween costumes. "It's a vampire! The costume comes with fake teeth and fake blood!"

Pepper observed the image, trying to picture Tony as a vampire. "Well, I suppose I won't want to miss that, will I?"

Rebecca lit up. "So you'll come?"

Pepper laughed. "Okay, I'll come. But, only of you pick out the costume for me."

"I will! Oh, it'll be _so_ scary!" Rebecca squealed excitedly before running off to climb up to the kitchen bench and flick through the pictures, looking up at Pepper every now and then to picture her in the costume, testing how terrifying it would be.

"Thanks," Tony whispered, taking a seat across from Pepper. "She's really been wanting to spend some more time with you."

Pepper's heart warmed at that, she loved that little girl so much. "Well, I'm looking forward to it as well."

"I know you sometimes worry...about how people see us, uh, our relationship." Tony tried to begin. "But this is all for her, and I don't want those reporter's and their stories to stop you from being with us for the night, it's all she wants."

Pepper smiled. "No, I don't care. I'd do anything for her."

* * *

Rebecca has just gotten out of the shower and was in her night gown when she heard Pepper at the door with Happy. She squealed with excitement and ran to the door.

"Pepper's here!" she called out to her dad. She made it to the door just as Pepper twisted the door handle, jumping up and down that she was finally here. "Yay! Come see your costume!"

Pepper giggled as the little girl pulled at her arm, dragging her to her room to show her what she had picked out. Happy followed closely behind, a smile on his face at the sight of Rebecca being so excited.

"Hey, thought you said Rhodes would be here?" Happy asked Tony when he appeared.

"Shh!" Tony scolded, looking around to see if Rebecca was in sight. "He'll be here soon, I kinda...persuaded him to dress up."

Happy gave him a look. "Uh huh, and how much did that set you back?"

"Fifty bucks, no biggie." he shrugged.

* * *

Rebecca had spent the past hour in the bathroom as Pepper did her make-up. Being different, and staying away from all of the girly costumes she knew all the other kids would wear, she opted to go as a zombie. They'd bought a big bag of face paints and fake blood, all ready for the designing. Pepper had a screech to go by, making the whole situation easier as she worried she'd ruin the whole costume for her.

"There you go." Pepper lifted her up to sit on the bench, looking at her reflection. "One brain-eating, terrifying, little zombie."

Rebecca's face lit up with a huge grin. "I look so scary! Everyone's going to think I'm a real zombie!" she told her excitedly. "Thank you Pepper!"

"You're welcome sweetie. Now, go find your dad while I get into my costume, okay?" she instructed.

Rebecca walked slowly around the corners, trying to make her appearance a surprise when they seen a zombie pop out, and looking so real as well. As she reached the living room, no one was there, and that's when she heard a noise from the kitchen, and when she turned, an arm grabbed her on the shoulder from behind with a roar.

"Ahh!" she squealed as she turned around and came face to face with a ghost-faced man in a robe.

The terror was short lived when Rhodey collapsed with laughter, kneeling to the ground and taking his mask off. Rebecca huffed and crossed her arms, angry that he scared her like that.

"Nuh uh, _I'm_ the scary one!" she stomped her foot as Happy appeared in the room as well.

"You sure are scary!" Rhodey looked over her costume. "Sorry Beccy, I couldn't resist kid." he tousled her hair.

"No! Don't touch!" she slapped his hand away. "I have to stay scary."

Rhodey was still laughing, much to Rebecca's disapproval, an Happy couldn't help hold his hand over his mouth as he watched. Both Rhodey and Happy loved spending these holidays with Rebecca, after all, they were her designated uncles. She was the light in most of the lives around her ever since she was born, the only child amongst all of those adults.

"All right, behold." Tony's voice boomed as he walked into the room. "I v'ant to suck your blood!"

He was wearing the main pieces of a tuxedo, except he had attached a long cape-like robe that stood up around his neck, similar to Dracula. Pepper had taken care of his makeup, covering him in a pale foundation and darkened eyes. His fangs were visible over his lips, the tips stained red and a trail of fake blood flowing down his chin onto a red pool on his white shirt.

"Whoa, dad! You look just like a vampire!" Rebecca ran over to him, and he lifted her up into his arms as she assessed his fake teeth.

"That's because I _am!_" he pulled his most threatening face and pretended to lung at her neck playfully, causing her to squeal uncontrollably with laughter and thrash around in his arms.

"Stop! Stop it! My costume! I need to stay scary!" she managed to yell out when he had a chance between boasts of laughter.

"Hey, enough of that." Pepper's voice came from down the hall.

Her feet weren't visible beneath the long black dress she wore that swept along the tiles, creating a gloomy feeling. The sleeves of the dress came all the way down to her wrists and continued up her hands, and the tall, black hat stood sharply on her head. Her hair was teased intensely, and her eyes were dark and smokey. Her lips were painted black and glossy, and she had a pale green shadowing across her face to replicate a witch. She looked every bit the part, and Tony couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Yay! I knew I picked the right costume!" Rebecca laughed in excitement again.

"And, and, and..." Pepper turned and pulled out an old broomstick designed for a witch and held it beside her. "Even got a broomstick."

It was at that moment that Tony knew he could never stand to let Pepper go, she couldn't leave them now, not ever. Just seeing how much effort she went to to make Rebecca happy, and the fact she treated her like her own child with the way she cared for her, she was the one he needed with them.

* * *

"Look at this one!" Rebecca gasped as they walked past other children and their parents in the streets, knocking on all of the doors. She was having so much fun, and Tony and Pepper walking around with her made her night so much better.

The school Fright Night was more enjoyable than Tony had expected, and he loved watching Rebecca running around having fun with her friends, just taking a break from life. Rebecca had won a prize for her scary costume, and Pepper had won the prize amongst the adults.

"Whoa, look how big this lollipop is!" Rebecca lifted it out of her candy bag to show Tony and Pepper. "I've got so much candy!"

"You'll get a major sugar high off of all that." Tony looked into the full bag. "You'll be all hyped up and-"

Tony was cut off by Rebecca sticking a lollipop in his mouth while he was bent down looking at the sugary collection she had gathered from different houses. She laughed when he seemed taken aback by the candy in his mouth.

"It's a sour one." Pepper told him as he was pulling an unimaginable face, holding back a laugh at the sight. "But...you're figured that out by now."

Tony took the lollipop from his mouth, trying to regain his taste buds and rid the sourness. "How...do...you..._eat_...those?" he asked in between moving his mouth about.

Rebecca shrugged. "It's yummy."

"Yummy? I can't taste _anything_."

"Stop being such a baby." Pepper laughed, taking Rebecca's hand and leading them to another doorstep. "Okay, now knock on the door."

Rebecca excitedly walked up the porch steps and gave four loud knocks on the door.

"Trick or treat!"

The man and woman at the door lowered down to Rebecca's level and looked over her costume, gasping at the detail.

"You're such a scary little zombie!" The woman commented. "Are you sure you're not a real one?"

Rebecca shook her head. "Nuh uh, it's makeup."

"Well, with a costume like that you sure do deserve some candy!" The man pulled out a bowl of assorted candies and put two handfuls in her bag, and that topped it off.

"Thank you!"

For the rest of the night, they walked around the streets collecting candy and looking at all of the Halloween decorations people had made. There was no way Rebecca could for any more candy in her already overflowing bag, no matter how much Tony ate to try and make room, he gave up after only picking up the sour ones.

"Hey there little zombie, how was trick-or-treating?" Happy asked when they all climbed into the back seat.

Rebecca did her best to lift the huge bag of candy and show it to him. "I got _heaps_ of candy!"

"I can see that!" Happy turned around excitedly. "Pick me out one."

Rebecca smirked. "Okay then."

Tony and Pepper knew what she'd give him. That same lollipop that made Tony cringe at the memory of the sour overload.

"Gee, thanks." Happy smiled when she handed it to him.

As soon as he put it in his mouth, he knew what was happening. His face, involuntarily, made the most unflattering expression, and his eyes squinted almost shut. Rebecca sat up and watched his continually hilarious reaction as Tony and Pepper chuckled at the whole situation.

* * *

After Happy had calmed enough to drive, they were on their way home, and slowly the streets disappeared as they went further out of town to their house. Tony looked over to Rebecca who hadn't spoken in a while and discovered she was sleeping peacefully against the door, her mouth stained red from the candy she had eaten on the way.

"I thought sugar was like caffeine to kids." Tony commented quietly, careful not to wake her.

Pepper smiled when she looked over and seen the little girl fast asleep. "I think she burnt all the energy she had."

Before they knew it, they were back at home in the driveway. Happy, with his years of professional experience, had bypassed the busy roads and taken them on a different route, bringing them back home quicker. Tony followed Pepper out of the back seat and walked around to Rebecca's side, carefully opening the door and cradling her head as he lifted her into his arms. He wouldn't loved to see their situation through someone else's eyes at the moment. A vampire carrying a little zombie into the house, followed by a beautiful looking witch, and then there was Happy.

Tony walked into the living room and sat Rebecca down on the couch as he continued to sleep peacefully, her makeup still perfectly set. Tony took off his black cape-robe and poured a coffee for him and Pepper since Happy was still outside taking a phone call.

"Thanks again for tonight, I can tell she had way more fun since you were there." Tony pushed the hot cup toward Pepper's hands.

"I told you, I don't mind, I had a lot of fun too." Pepper warmed her hands around the cup, looking over to Rebecca on the couch. "Good luck handling her tomorrow, she'll be on another sugar high all day with all of that." she gestured toward the bag of candy.

Pepper stayed until she finished her coffee, but then decided she wouldn't make Happy wait any longer to drive her home, so she left. Tony followed her to the front door, still thanking her for coming along with them for the night, and for how much fun Rebecca had. It wasn't long until the car pulled away from the house and Tony went back into the living room, covering his daughter in a blanket and dimming the lights, making sure she was comfortable in her exhausted state.

As Pepper drove him, she couldn't help thinking of what a wonderful time she had with Tony and Rebecca. It would be this night she would remember years from now as the night she realized they were in fact a family. An untraditional, dysfunctional, completely out-of-whack, crazy family, no matter how much she convinced herself the relationship was professional, she couldn't bare the thought of leaving either Tony or Rebecca, and she vowed she never would.

* * *

**Ahh! Okay, I really hope you liked this! It's a longer chapter than usual, but hey, it's my Halloween special! I really wanted to explore with the little childhood memories Rebecca had of these little moments in her life. I thought the whole idea of everyone dressing up for her was cute and showed how much she was to everyone. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Anyway, as usual I'll ask if you'd please continue the reviews and let me know what you think. Also, please review with any ideas of events or situations you'd like to read about as I will be more than happy to write them for you! Thanks for reading!**

**Also, if you follow my other story, 'I Am Iron Man', the newest chapter is up and I'm just letting you know that the next chapter will indeed be in Monaco. Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Day At Home**

_"I won't be stopping by until late this afternoon. I explained yesterday but I'm sure you've forgotten. Ms. Potts."_

Tony's eyebrows creased together as he tried to think of what she had explained to him the day before. He had forgotten, but he didn't know how since Pepper rarely ever took a day off for something personal. Tony continued to try and remember the conversation they'd had the day before but his attention was taken by the seven year old girl running down the stairs.

"Whoa, calm down!" Tony told her as she made it into the kitchen. "Why are you so hyper? It's 8am."

Rebecca's grin widened as she began to tell her dad what the day way. "It's Saturday morning." she told him, assuming he would know. "We have _waffles_ for breakfast on Saturdays."

Tony realized why she was so hyper then. She was a sugar addict, he was sure of it, as if she wasn't hyper enough already. To be honest, Tony enjoyed the Saturday morning breakfast as well, but then he remembered one very important fact.

"Pepper usually makes them," he realized. "...she's not here."

Rebecca looked confused. "Well...we can make them! I help Pepper sometimes, I know how to do it!"

"What makes you think I can't cook waffles?" Tony asked in a playful voice.

"Pepper said so." Rebecca folded her arms. "She said I could cook better."

"Did she now?" Tony narrowed his eyes. "Well, why don't we put that to the test?"

* * *

Tony sat at the bench next to Rebecca with a plate full of half-burnt and half-uncooked waffles, looking at their failure. It was true, Rebecca could cook better than he could, but the waffles still weren't a success.

"Maybe next time we shouldn't make them from scratch." he suggested.

Rebecca gave him an unamused look, mostly because she was excited for waffles and these weren't exactly delicious. She had batter all over her face and on her pajamas whereas Tony had it all over his shirt.

"I want Pepper to make them next time." she looked back at the plate.

Tony nodded. "I agree kiddo."

They cleaned themselves up not long after their failed attempt at making breakfast, and then their boredom began. Rebecca usually helped Tony with little things down in the workshop or busied herself with arranging his tools based on either their size or their color, depending on her mood. But today, the workshop wasn't the best place to be. Tony was halfway through building a particular weapon prototype for Stark Industries and when weapons were involved, he kept his workshop locked and refused to take Rebecca down there.

"I'm bored dad." Rebecca whined as she walked over to him.

He was standing at the back of the room, looking out of the huge windows as rain began to fall down. They were stuck in this big house by themselves, and they were both bored out of their mind.

"What do you want to do?" Tony asked, turning to her.

She shrugged. "I don't know."

Tony thought to himself about what they could entertain themselves with. They'd watched almost all of the movies in their collection, so that idea was out, and the day just seemed miserable.

He looked over at the chairs in the living room and the big sofa, coming to some sort of idea. There were plenty of blankets around the house and it was almost winter, it was the perfect time to build one of these.

"I know," Tony nodded to himself. "We'll build a fort."

* * *

"Grab as many blankets as you can! Go!" Tony ordered Rebecca as she hurriedly ran upstairs to the bedrooms.

This was the greatest idea he had come up with all day and he found himself just as excited as Rebecca was. He grouped a few couches together, pushing them into the middle of the room and sliding the coffee table over to act as an entrance to their fort. He remembered doing this when he was kid, but his father was always too busy to waste time on such things, which is why he vowed to show Rebecca the proper way to build a fort. He looked over to the staircase and seen a huge ball of blankets making their way downstairs slowly, small feet only just visible underneath the mass.

"Is this good?" she asked in a muffled voice as the blankets fell back onto her.

Tony grabbed as many as he could from her and began tossing them into a pile off to the side. "Perfect!" he assured, helping her out of the clutter of blankets.

Rebecca ran around the living room, jumping up on top of the couch to survey the area. They had chairs lines up for an easy tunnel, an entrance, and they had the ends of the couches to act as their walls.

"Okay, let's put this one up first." Tony advised as he picked up one end of the blanket. "Now grab that the other end and we'll throw it over the couch."

Rebecca followed the instructions and jumped up in the air to reach the height she needed to throw the blanket over the couch. They repeated this for every other chair in the room until there was no room left for furniture to be moved.

"This is _so_ cool!" she observed.

"Go in and see if we need anything else." Tony knelt down beside the little entrance and lifted the blanket for Rebecca to walk in.

She crouched down and crawled inside the huge fort, but she had no idea where she was going since it was pitch black.

"Need lights!" she told him as she hurried out, a little fearful of being in there. "Too dark."

"Alright," Tony stood up. "You're on snack duty. We need anything you can find, and I'll go get lights."

Rebecca beamed. "Okay!"

Her feet pounded the tiles as she rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a big bowl. Chocolate chips and all of the yummy food she could find was thrown into the bowl until it was overflowing with snacks. There were many times when Pepper would try and advocate healthy foods to Rebecca, but she was just like all the other children her age and would rather sweets, which left Pepper baffled to how she stayed healthy, most likely the amount of energy she had.

"I got the snacks!" she called out as she rushed back to the living room. "Dad?"

"Hold on," Tony said from over by the power point. "I'm putting the lights on."

Rebecca slid the bowl inside the door to the fort and then waited until her dad had the lights switched on. The fort illuminated with the glow of the lights inside, and she crawled inside to observe the newly designed area. Tony put fairy lights up everywhere inside, Rebecca's favorite.

"How is it in there?" Tony peaked from the door.

"Awesome!" she smiled widely. "Come in!"

"Pretty cool, huh?" Tony looked around as he too crawled inside and sat comfortably.

"It's like a ship!" Rebecca ran around the little sections they made with blankets. "It's...it's like a pirate ship!"

Tony smiled at his daughter's joy. He didn't usually have time to do things like this. To just spend time with Rebeca all day without having to worry about business stuff or the amount or work he had. She was at school for most days now, and on the days she was off, he was most busiest. It was these little things he enjoyed most about his life, because he knew things were a different story for him when he was a child. His father never made time to be with him like a dad would be, instead he was more of a teacher or a business colleague to him, and he didn't want that for Rebecca. It as ad enough that she didn't have a mother to spend this time with, there was now way he was going to give this up their time together.

"What'a that noise?" Rebecca asked, interrupting Tony's thoughts as he tapped his feet against the couch.

"I don't know," Tony looked at her with a concerned expression. "Maybe something's out there!"

Rebecca looked worried for a moment before she walked ver and pulled the blanket door down.

"We need to lock everything down!" she ordered. "Something's attacking our ship!"

* * *

Pepper walked up to the door at exactly 6.45pm that evening, carrying nothing but her planner and cell phone. At first she wondered if anyone was home since the house was silent when she walked in, but she soon discovered why that was. In the living room, pillows were thrown everywhere and the chairs weren't even visible anymore. There was a huge tent-like figure within the room here the chairs had been hidden, and the glow of the lights inside told her where they were due to the silhouettes she saw. The house was a complete mess. The kitchen was disgraceful, the bedrooms had been pulled apart in order to use the blankets and it looked like the house had suffered a cyclone.

"Okay you guys, I _know_ you're in there," Pepper spoke calmly as she walked over to their door to the fort.

She was half expecting to be hit in the face by some sort of weapon they had made since the fort looked as though it had been transformed into a pirate ship thanks to the flag, but instead she was greeted by nothing but silence as she found them asleep. Tony was sprawled out in the middle of the fort as Rebecca laid by his side, using his shoulder as her pillow. It was the cutest sight Pepper had seen in a while and they both seemed too innocent to have created the mess that was outside their fort. Just as she stood up to walk back, she tripped on a rather large bowl of half-eaten snacks and almost fell, creating a loud crashing noise.

"Ahh!" Rebecca screamed, jumping up from her sleeping position.

Pepper was startled by the girl's screams, as well as her own fright from almost falling over, but she couldn't help grinning at the sight of Tony and Rebecca's response, and then seeing Tony crawl out of the fort was hilarious. He was the biggest kid she knew, which wasn't a surprise, but it was still a humorous sight. There were pillows everywhere in the fort, and a dome-like shaped blanket around the television from where they watched the afternoon cartoons.

''You're lucky,'' Tony told her when he stood up. ''You could've been killed.''

Pepper narrowed her eyes. ''Excuse me?''

''The monsters!'' Rebecca informed her. ''We've been fighting them off all afternoon!''

Pepper looked over to Tony who was smiling for her to go along. ''Really? That must've been exciting!''

''Mhm!'' Rebecca nodded.

''Well, I can see you've both had a very productive day.'' she commented. ''Now, to clean the mess.'' Both Tony and Rebecca groaned in sync at Pepper's suggestion, dreading the clean up. ''Oh, come on.''

''Pepper, don't ruin the fun.'' Tony told her. ''We'll deal with the mess later.''

''_You_ will deal with the mess.'' she smirked. ''So, you had a good day?'' Pepper asked Rebecca as they both walked from the room.

''Yep!'' Rebecca beamed. ''It's called a fort! Dad taught me how to make one, and then we decorated it with _fairy_ lights and _all_ this stuff and...''

Tony smiled as he listened to his daughter telling Pepper how much fun she had today. This was all he wanted for her at this age, a childhood. Not like his. Not crowded by cameras all day and asked about company business that's not important to a child. Just being a kid. She didn't need siblings or a mother to know she belonged and that she was loved by everyone in her life, instead Tony could do that on his own, as he was proving to himself more and more.

* * *

**Hey guys, sorry for not updating this in a while, I've been caught up in my other story and just haven't found time. I am thinking about writing a Christmas chapter, and that will be up within the next two weeks but expect it within this week. _Please, please, please, please_ review with suggestions as to what to write about or scenes you'd like to read, because that is my main problem with writing these one shots because I can't think of ideas since I'm so caught up in the plots for my other story, so PLEASE help me out guys. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this update. Hopefully I'll be updating soon, so be on alert!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Christmas**

_**Part One: Almost Christmas**_

Rebecca's hand clung tightly to Tony's as they walked around the crowded room. It was the Stark Industries Christmas party, which meant all employees and their families were invited. The decorations were incredible, the lights taking Rebecca's interest as she walked through the room. There was a Christmas tree in each corner covered in tinsel, and one big tree in the middle. Being five years old, Christmas was the most exciting time of all for Rebecca. The lights, the trees, the snow, the presents, she loved it. She had been working on her Christmas list lately after advice from Pepper that Santa would want to see what she wanted, but mainly because of the dilemma Tony was having about what to get her. He never worried about money or what time of year it was, he would buy her things all the time, which left very little ideas when it came to Christmas.

Rebecca played with the sides of her little red dress as Tony was stopped by someone to talk, her other hand still holding onto his. She had a little green bow in her hair to complement the red she wore, conveying the Christmas spirit.

"So, will you be at the conference tomorrow?" The man asked him.

Tony knew he needed to go, he just hated having to. "I'll be there."

"Oh, good, because we've got a_ lot_ of things we need to agree on and pass before before Christmas, which means this will be a busy few days."

"Wait," Tony looked confused. "Days? How long does this conference go for?"

"It's just a regular conference, but there are ideas and models we need to put forward and pass through the board before Christmas when everyone gets their time off, but we'll have to push it for a few days so that when we all come back, we won't have to start from scratch."

"Right," he nodded, still unsure of why they needed to work for so long on issues that weren't needed until the New Year.

The man walked away and left Tony to sulk about having so much to do. He was the CEO, surely he called the shots on what the company did and how long they'd work, but evidently not. His eyes lowered to Rebecca who was standing by his side looking bored, staring up at him.

"Where's all this Christmas food, huh?" he asked happily, beginning to lead her over to a small table of cookies, cupcakes, candy canes and other assorted sweets. "I'm up for a cookie, how about you?"

Not long into the evening, Pepper showed up and walked through the crowd, politely greeting everyone an scanning the crowd for her boss. She found him kneeling down beside one of the corner Christmas trees, lifting off the decorations and playing with them before arranging them into a better position. Rebecca was munching on a Christmas cookie which obviously had red icing due to the color of her tongue when she poked it out and Pepper thought she might have gotten hyper from the sugar overload.

"Pepper!" Rebecca smiled widely as she walked over. "Look!" she poked her tongue out, showing her the food dye stain on her lips and mouth.

Pepper laughed. "Been eating cookies, have we?" Rebecca nodded excitedly. "I might have to get myself one of those."

"Hey, have you heard from Rhodey?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Yes, he said he would be here." she assured him.

"Am here I am." Rhodey's voice came into the conversation at just the right time. He was wearing a casual suit, keen to relax now that he was back from his latest air-force exercise.

"Hey man," Tony gave him a brotherly hug. "Good to see you!"

"Good to be back." he smiled as they stepped back from each other before Pepper welcomed him home. "Nice to see you too, Ms. Potts."

Rebecca peeked her head through the trio's little circle, looking up at the man that had just joined them. "Rhodey!" she beamed, hurrying over to him excitedly.

"Hey Beccy!" Rhodey bent down and picked the little girl up to pull her in for a tight hug. "You've gotten taller since I last seen you."

Rhodey had been gone for about a month, and although Tony had kept in contact with him through his technology, it was nice to have him back in time for Christmas.

As the night went on, the Christmas party became duller and duller as the spirit died down. The little raffles they had were drawn and won, the music wasn't as loud anymore and a lot of people had gone home. Tony sat at the table holding Rebecca as she slept against his shoulder. It had taken three Christmas cookies to result in her sugar overload, and she was running around the room giggling like crazy as she played with other kids and then singing her own rendition of 'Jingle Bells' to a few people. With all of that energy burnt off quickly, she was exhausted, and she was now sound asleep as guests continued to leave the party.

Tony had to stay longer than most people to clear up a few things since Obadiah was out on a business trip, and he hated having to keep Rebecca there with him when she was so tired. He stood up carefully, cradling his hands around her as he made his way over to the back exit with Pepper following. Happy was waiting outside in the parking lot, holding the door open as they walked out, preparing to drive them back home.

* * *

Tony was sitting at the kitchen bench on his laptop when he heard the front door swing open. Pepper and Rebecca walked through with armfuls of shopping bags and boxes, setting them down in the living room. Tony needed as much time as he could today to finish off most of the work he had to do after the conference, so Pepper took Rebecca Christmas shopping in order to give him space.

Pepper walked into the kitchen and sat her bag down on the stool, letting out a sigh, glad to be out of the Christmas traffic of people and vehicles.

"How was shopping?" Tony asked, his eyes still glued to the computer screen.

"Well its two days before Christmas, so you can imagine." she told him with a slight chuckle. "How is the work coming along?"

Tony took his hands away from the key board, running them over his tired face. "Never ending."

"Slow down then. So you don't finish it before Christmas holidays. It's not a big deal." she told him. ''Which is saying a lot coming from me who can't even get you to sign a piece of paper.''

"Obadiah is relying on me to finish this." Tony told her, looking up at her with an exhausted expression. "If I don't..."

"He'll be disappointed." Pepper finished. Tony nodded silently, looking back to the computer screen. "I understand that you look up to him and you don't want to let him down, but you don't need to do this to yourself. Have you even eaten anything today?" Tony didn't say anything, and Pepper knew the answer. "You need to take a break-"

"What I _need_ is to get this finished." he told her.

Pepper nodded, knowing it wasn't her place to tell him how to approach this situation. When it came to doing what Obadiah said, there was no winning the argument.

"Just don't forget there's an important day coming up." she reminded him.

"I know Pepper, I'm aware."

"Daddy!" Rebecca's voice instantly changed his attitude as she walked into the room.

She was dressed in her warm leggings and sweater which made her very cuddly when he lifted her up into a hug. Pepper smiled, admiring how his work became forgotten as soon as he had his daughter in his arms.

"Did you have fun shopping?"

Rebecca nodded. "Uh huh! I even got paper to wrap presents later, Pepper said she'd teach me how to make them look pretty."

Tony then remembered another bunch of errands he had to do regarding Christmas and presents, he just had way too much to do. Hopefully he would get it all done, but at the moment he was more than busy.

When Rebecca walked back out of the room, Tony turned back to his computer once again, his smile disappearing and his mind in full function once again. Pepper was contemplating whether or not she should remind him of the final meeting for Stark Industries that was to take place late that evening, but she actually wouldn't mind if he missed it today, he was exhausted.

* * *

"Okay, be _very_ careful with it sweetie." Pepper warned as he bent down to give Rebecca her hot chocolate with marshmallows on top.

Rebecca nodded and accepted the mug which was just the right temperature. She pulled it to her lips and smelled the strong chocolatey scent that swam into the air. She eyed the hot drink carefully as she walked into the living room, taking a seat on the floor as Pepper walked in behind her and did the same. They had finished wrapping presents for everyone and had tucked them into the sides under the Christmas tree they had set up.

"Pepper," Rebecca sat her drink down. "Is daddy mad at me?"

Pepper's eyebrows creased in concern. "Of course not! Why would you think that?"

Rebecca shrugged. "He said we would watch Christmas movies together and drink hot chocolate with the fairy lights on, but he isn't talking to me."

Pepper was saddened that the little girl thought her dad was mad at her when in reality he was struggling to keep up with his workload that Obadiah had insisted he finish before Christmas. It wasn't fair on either of them.

"Your dad has a lot to do lately, he's very busy." she explained. "But that doesn't mean he's mad at you, he's just been working too much. I promise you've done nothing wrong."

Rebecca nodded. "What about tomorrow?"

Tomorrow was Christmas eve, and Pepper had personally witnessed Tony's promise to his daughter that they would look at Christmas lights and do all of the traditional Christmas Eve rituals like setting up the house for a very special visitor, but she knew he was way too busy and most likely forgot his promise.

Pepper reached her hand out to push the hair out of the little girls face and strokes her warm cheeks. "Don't worry sweetie."

Rebecca sipped at her warm cup of hot chocolate and tried not to be upset although all she wanted was a big hug from her dad, and he wasn't there.

* * *

Pepper walked into the house the next morning and done her usual routine of turning on the espresso machine, setting the house thermostat since it was winter, informing Jarvis to wake up Tony and then opening her planner to run through the list of scheduled chores to do. His list was shorter now that it was the day before Christmas and there wasn't much left to do, but since Obadiah was pressuring him into finishing a lot of work, he was still a very busy man.

Tony walked into the kitchen and sat down at the bench across from Pepper and opened his laptop immediately, checking emails and his work. Pepper could tell from the look of his eyes that he went to bed very late last night and probably only got a few hours of sleep.

"Is there anything I can help with?" she asked, hopeful.

"Nope." he told her simply.

Pepper sighed at his stubbornness, wishing she could ease the workload for him. He needed to be a father at Christmas, not a workaholic.

"Tony, this is getting way too much." she told him firmly, catching his attention. "You're working _all_ day, you're not sleeping and you've barely spent any time with Rebecca these past few days."

Tony already knew all of those things, but he couldn't help it. "Obadiah needs these done."

"Yeah? Well your daughter needs you more, Tony."

"I'm trying!" he raised his voice, looking up at her. "I am _trying_."

Pepper gave him a sympathetic look. "Obadiah can't do this to you. One person cannot do all of this work in such a small amount of time. You don't have to do this."

Tony picked up his cup of coffee that Pepper had poured for him and stood up, closing his laptop. He was too tired to deal with this right now, he needed to get this work finished.

"I'll be in the shop."

Pepper took a deep breath and watched him walk away, exhausted. He was drowning himself in his workload and he was too stubborn to ask for help.

* * *

A few hours later Pepper walked down to the workshop with her usual cup of coffee for Tony to help him work through the day. If there were days when he needed a couple of coffees to help him stay awake, today was one of them. It was different walking down to the room and not hearing the usual blasting of music, and even though Pepper usually complained about it, she missed it today, because she knew Tony was too tired to bother with it.

"Coffee," Pepper told him as she held it out for him. The way she spoke was unlike we usual soft voice, this one held annoyance and mild anger, and Tony noticed.

"Any calls?"

"No, everyone else is on annual holiday leave. It's Christmas."

"I know." he told her grumpily.

"Just checking."

Pepper couldn't help the anger she was bottling up inside her at Tony. He was completely ignoring everything else in his life in order to live up to Obadiah's expectations and that bothered her. Obadiah had this hold on Tony that was so powerful and he always ended up hating himself for having to do everything he was told. Tony was still young, he needed a father figure, and Obadiah happened to take on that role, but he was very manipulative.

"Say it, Pepper." he turned around to face her.

"Excuse me?"

"Whatever's on your mind, just say it." Tony looked at her with as much intensity as he could muster, and Pepper looked back equally as serious.

"I think you should lay off the workload for a while."

Tony shook his head. "That's not it. You're angry at me."

Pepper scoffed. "Of course I'm angry!"

"Then spit it out!"

"You're being selfish!" she yelled, surprised at her response. "You don't have to drop _everything_ in your life to please Obadiah, he's a grown man, if he wants the work done he can do it _himself_. You've got a five-year-old daughter to be with and take care of and you've barely seen her." Pepper told him firmly, making sure she seized this opportunity to get through to him. "I'm not trying to make things harder for you, but you need to get yourself together and remember what's important here. Let me deal with Obadiah if he has a problem with that."

Tony leaned back on his desk, folding his arms. He had been so determined not to let Obadiah down, but now he had let Rebecca down, and he felt guiltier than ever. Pepper was right, she was always right, as he was continually learning. He was glad she was in his life for these particular reasons. She wasn't afraid to let him know what she thought and when he was out of line. They both stood there for a few minutes as Tony thought to himself.

"I have...been a terrible father." he shrugged.

"Uh uh, no way, don't do that." Pepper's eyebrows creased in concern.

"Well its true."

"No it's not." she told him firmly. "I have never seen anyone take to fatherhood as well as you have. Well, for as long as I've known you."

"The last thing I wanted was to let her down. I've ruined Christmas." he shook his head in self-loathing. "She must hate me. I'm her dad and I haven't even seen her today. I can't believe this."

"First of all, Christmas is tomorrow." she reminded him. "And I know for a fact she does not hate you. You wanna know why?" Tony didn't speak, and Pepper could tell he was really taking this realization hard. "I was looking over her Christmas list to see if we missed anything, but she only had one thing written down that she wanted on Christmas morning." Tony looked up, curious. "Her dad."

* * *

Rebecca was in the living room that afternoon as she had been all day, watching cartoons and playing with her toys while occasionally looking over to the stairway to see if her dad was there, but he wasn't. Pepper had been trying to get her excited for Christmas just like she was a few days ago, but all she wanted was her dad and without him she would be miserable on Christmas. That's when Pepper made her move downstairs to speak to Tony.

It was about four in the afternoon when Tony walked into the living room to find Rebecca on the couch playing with one of her toys and ignoring the cartoons on television.

"Hey," he smiled, walking over to sit beside her. Rebecca didn't look up at him, instead she just kept playing with her toy. "I've been working too much, I know, and I'm sorry. But I promise I'm all yours now, no more work."

Rebecca finally looked up at her dad with those same brown eyes that mirrored his. "Really?" she asked softly.

"Really." he smiled, assuring her he wasn't going anywhere.

Rebecca bit her lip sadly. "You were grumpy."

Tony nodded. "I know, I've been a meanie lately, I'm sorry kiddo. But I promise everything's okay now."

Rebecca sat up on the couch and moved over to hug her dad, her arms only just stretching up around his neck until he lifted her up to hug her back. "That's okay daddy."

Tony was lucky to have a little girl like Rebecca. After all he had done these past few days, he was sure Rebecca would hate him or at least ignore him for a while, he had completely ignored everything he promised his daughter and yet she forgave him so easily.

"How 'bout those movies, huh?" Tony walked over to the stack of movies he had on the bench, all Christmas themed and family friendly.

"Yes!" Rebecca ran after him happily, clapping her hands excitedly.

One of her favorite things about Christmas was getting into the spirit of things with decorations and Christmas themed movies and music. The decorations were up all over the house thanks to some help from Pepper, everything looked wonderful.

"What do you wanna watch first?"

"'_The Grinch'_!" Rebecca requested loudly, reaching for the movie and running over to put it in the player.

"How did I know you'd pick '_The Grinch'_?" Tony chuckled and followed her back into the living room. "Hey, hold up!" he pointed toward the Christmas tree that Rebecca and Pepper had completed decorating. "Where's the star?"

Rebecca looked confused and walked over to the tree to observe. "But it was up there!"

"Must've fell down." Tony reached around the corner of the tree and picked up the golden star that had fallen off the top. "Yeah, here it is. Can't have a tree without a star."

Pepper emerged from the workshop, walking up the stairs into the hall and seeing the Christmas lights shining throughout the house. The little girl had quite the eye for decorating the house, Pepper barely had to make any suggestions. The house was warm and toasty, a perfect Christmas eve night. Just as she made her way around the corner, Pepper's smile lit up as she watched the pair in the living room.

"Alright, you ready?" Tony asked as he lifted Rebecca up to sit on his shoulders.

"Yep!" she smiled, clinging to the star in her hand.

Tony lifted her up high and leant forward to allow her to reach the spot for the star. She made sure it wouldn't fall this time, wedging it down on the frame.

"Okay!"

Tony stepped back, still holding onto Rebecca as she sat on his shoulders. "Now _that's_ a Christmas tree."

"It sure does look good," Pepper smiled as she walked into the room. "Rebecca did _all_ the decorations, you know."

"Well, they're the best decorations I've seen." Tony praised and Rebecca giggled at the appreciation.

"You're not going home are you?" Rebecca asked Pepper when she seen the handbag she was carrying and the small folder in her arms.

Pepper nodded. "Yeah, I have to go see my family for Christmas."

Rebecca poured. "But we were gonna watch '_The Grinch'_."

"I'm sorry sweetie, if I don't go home now I'll be late."

"Will you be here tomorrow?"

Rebecca knew Pepper had her own life away from theirs, but she still wanted to see Pepper on Christmas, she was family.

Pepper smiled at the little girls pouting. "I'll try and be back for dinner, okay?"

Rebecca accepted her deal and then rested her head on top of Tony's as she sat there and said goodbye to Pepper. Now that her dad was back, she was excited for Christmas more than ever, but she would miss Pepper.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Pepper assured her. "And make sure you go to sleep early tonight, you _know_ the rules about Santa." Rebecca nodded her head seriously. "Okay then, well goodnight and Merry Christmas."

Tony watched as Pepper walked out of the room, and he flashed her a thankful smile when she turned wave at them both.

* * *

**Okay guys, this the first part to the two-part Christmas chapter I'm writing. This was a pitch from ''TwilightAnimeLover21'' and I really liked the idea so I wrote it like this. I hope I did a good job. The next and final part to this chapter will be up soon and it will contain a lot more fluff and happier times! Please review and thanks for reading! **

**Oh, and keep the suggestions for stories coming as I will make a list of them to write! Thanks. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Christmas Day**

Tony could hear little feet running up the hallway as he glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. It was Christmas morning, so he wasn't the least surprised that it was only 7.30am. He heard the footsteps approach his room and them become quieter as they tiptoed around the bed. The blankets pulled down at the shift of weight on the bottom of the bed as the little girl pulled herself up onto it, crawling across to Tony.

"Daddy?" Rebecca whispered quietly next to his ear. "Wake up!"

"Mm." Tony groaned in response, but that was a 'yes' to Rebecca.

She jumped up on the bed and began hopping up and down in excitement as Tony came to the conclusion that he would have to get up now, there was no calming a child down on Christmas morning. She was dressed in her warm winter pajamas and her chocolate brown hair sat just above her shoulders, barely tousled.

"Wake up, dad! It's Christmas! We have to go see if we got any presents from Santa!" she squealed. "Up! Up! Wake up!"

"Okay, okay, I'm awake," he yawned, pulling his feet out from under the blankets and sitting up. "You didn't go peak at the tree did you?"

Rebecca shook her head. "Nuh uh, I didn't! I been good!"

Tony smiled at her assurance, running his hands through his hair and yawning loudly. Rebecca was still jumping on the bed with excitement, wide awake as he walked into the bathroom.

"Dad!" she whined loudly. "Come on!"

Tony walked back out and held his hand out for Rebecca to jump off the bed and onto the floor with a slight thud. "Alright, let's go."

Rebecca's smile widened and she ran out to the hall and hurried through the house. Tony laughed at her excitement and hurried his pace, not wanting to miss the look on her face when she saw her presents under their perfectly decorated Christmas tree.

There were presents piled up underneath the tree, wrapped in all sorts of colors and topped with ribbons that bounced joyfully as they were handled. The brilliant work of Pepper, no doubt, since Tony couldn't use wrapping paper without becoming frustrated an the fact he had been busier than ever lately. Tony had picked out all of the presents though and had stored them for weeks now in preparation for Christmas.

Rebecca's face lit up as she walked around the corner and into the living room, discovering what had been left underneath the tree. Tony couldn't help his lips tugging into a smile as he watched his daughter's surprise.

"Look!" she squealed as she ran into the room. "Look at them all!"

"Guess you've been really good this year." Tony nodded, following her closer to the tree.

Rebecca's mouth was still wide open as she walked around the presents, making sure she wasn't seeing things. There were big ones and small ones, and she had no idea what any of them were.

"Go on," Tony encouraged as he sat down in front of the tree, crossing his legs. "Tear them open. Let's see what you got."

Her littles hands grabbed the closest box she could reach as she sat down next to Tony, pulling it onto her lap to begin ripping the paper. The ribbon was the hardest part as she found, trying to tear that apart was frustrating, but she soon was rid of the wrapping and now help the gift in her hand.

"Whoa!" she beamed. "Look at it! It's the new one!" Tony put on his best surprised expression and became just as excited about the new game she held in her hands. "Can we play?"

"Hey, you've got loads more presents yet. Promise we'll play it later, okay?" Tony moved the scrunched up wrapping paper away. "Come on, open the next one!"

Rebecca had no arguments there, gladly setting her newest toy aside to slide over another perfectly wrapped present with yet another ribbon around it, and she struggled with it just the same.

With each present that she opened, Rebecca jumped up excitedly and ran around playing with it before she realized there were even more presents to open. The living room was covered in wrapping paper and ribbons as all of the presents became unwrapped and they began playing with her new toys and gadgets. Rebecca wasn't very interested in playing with dolls or castles, and most of her presents showed that, but there were a few gifts like make-up sets and jewelry that she actually enjoyed.

There were a few presents under the tree that were for Tony as well, from Rebecca and Pepper, little things they knew he would enjoy. He was a billionaire, there wasn't much they could buy him that he didn't already have. Nevertheless, the gifts he received were appreciated.

"Whoa, check this one out!" Tony pulled out a bigger box from behind the tree. "It was hiding back there."

"That's a big one!"

"Open it up, let's see what it is."

Tony watched on with a look of anticipation as she pulled back pieces of red and green wrapping paper as tossed it to the floor. As each strip was torn, they became closer and closer to seeing what was underneath.

"It's a..." Rebecca stepped back to view the box in entirety and observe the picture on it. "It's a bike!"

"No way!" Tony stood up and lifted the cardboard sides, pulling at them to reveal the contents. "Yep, that's a bike alright!"

Out of the box came a dark purple bike with splashes of green around it, and a set of training wheels which Tony had a feeling Rebecca would take off herself after the first go.

"It's awesome!" Rebecca clapped her hands as the bike came into proper view. "Can I ride it!"

Tony looked around the house before remember Pepper wasn't coming in today, not until later anyway, and she would be the one to protest this. However, Tony was in one of his best moods and never really cared for Pepper's household rules anyway. It was his house, and today he was in charge.

"Yeah, why not!" he told her excitedly. "Let's get those training wheels on first."

* * *

Rhodey walked through the front door with an armful of presents in gift bags, expecting the pair to be in the living room playing the video game he knew Tony had bought. Instead, he was almost run down by the five year old girl on her new bike, riding through the halls of the house squealing with glee. In that moment, he knew Pepper wasn't here yet.

"Hey, Tony!" he called out as he walked into the living room where wrapping paper was thrown everywhere.

The video game had been set up and paused on the television, toys were all over the place and Tony had his music blaring.

"Look who it is." Tony smiled as he walked into the room.

"Where the hell were you? I've been searching this place for ten minutes."

"Down in the shop," he shrugged. "Rebecca is not a fan of training wheels, had to take them off _after_ I put them on."

"Well, she must have some damn good coordination since she almost ran me down when I walked in the door."

Tony laughed, walking into the kitchen. "We had breakfast ages ago but there's some leftovers if you're hungry."

Rhodey walked in and looked at the kitchen bench. "You cooked this?"

Tony nodded triumphantly. "Waffles, pancakes, bacon and eggs, omelettes and freshly squeezed orange juice."

Rhodey looked shocked that his friend could cook this much food and it all looked rather delicious. "Seriously,_ you_ cooked this?" Tony nodded again, his eyebrows narrowing as if offended Rhodey thought he couldn't cook, which he usually couldn't. "Guess miracles _do_ happen on Christmas."

"Ha ha," Tony laughed sarcastically. "When I'm in a good mood, I can do anything, and that happened to be to cook the best Christmas breakfast ever."

Rhodey picked up a pancake and drizzled some maple syrup over the top, careful not to spill anything on his clothes as he ate. "Mm, it is pretty good."

Tony could hear Rebecca running down the hall and into the kitchen, obviously taking a break from her bike riding and playing with her presents to get some food. She wore her little green and red dress today in honor of Christmas and she had a gold bow in her hair. Her smile lit up when she saw Rhodey sitting at the bench as well, glad to see him. Ever since she could remember, she had seen Rhodey on Christmas. He was her uncle and he never missed giving her presents on Christmas and spending time with his second family.

"Rhodey!"

He sat his pancake down and stood up to walk over to her. "Bec! Merry Christmas!" he lifted her up in a tight hug. "Were you good this year? Get a lot of presents?"

Rebecca nodded. "Uh huh! I got heaps! I got a bike! And I got new games! Do you wanna play!"

Rhodey laughed at her excitement. "I sure do! Let's go!"

They all walked into the living room and sat down on the floor in front of the television, resuming the paused game. Tony watched on happily as Rhodey and Rebecca played the video game, nudging each other playfully and laughing at Rhodey's lack of coordination to play this game.

"Come on Rhodes, if you can fly a jet you can play a video game." Tony joked.

"Hey, this is harder than it looks." Rhodey defended, staring intensely at the television screen and hitting all sorts of buttons. "How are kids supposed to understand how to play this?"

_"Game over. Player 1 Wins!"_

Rebecca clapped her hands excitedly and looked over at Rhodey with a smirk.

"Beaten by a five year old." Tony laughed, knowing Rhodey was quite competitive when it came to video games.

"Best of three." Rhodey restarted the game, handing Rebecca the controller to play again. "I'm gotta get the hang of this thing."

* * *

The day went on like that until the afternoon. Rhodey and Rebecca challenges each other with the video games she got, turning the game into three players when Tony challenged them as well. All of her other toys were played with in rotation as she moved around the room observing all of her presents, too many to remember what they all were.

Tony's music was blaring through the house as they all laughed and played with numerous gifts. Rhodey had gotten her a remote controlled jet plane for her to fly around the house since she was always asking him about how he flew them, and it had already caused the destruction of a wall painting.

"Never liked this one anyway." Tony shrugged when it smashed to the ground.

As the afternoon went on, Tony managed to convince Rebecca not to ride her bike through the house when Pepper arrived and to put the training wheels back on. Pepper had insisted she used them to get used to balancing and although she seemed fine without them, Tony knew it would earn him a disapproving glare from his P.A if he didn't put them back on.

Rebecca and Tony were sitting on the living room floor assembling one of her toys and finding batteries for them when there was a knock at the door. Rebecca knew who it would be and jumped up from her position to run to the door, flying past Rhodey who was advancing through levels of the video game now that he finally for the hang of it. Rebecca's feet pounded the tiles in the hall as she rushed to the door, reaching up to turn the handle and open it.

"Pepper!" she squealed.

Pepper walked through the door and shut it behind her, keeping the cool air out, and bent down to pull Rebecca in for a hug. Pepper was dressed in a casual red dress, her hair flowing over her shoulders, which was a big difference to her usual professional clothing.

"Merry Christmas, sweetie." Pepper pulled a bag from behind her and pulled out a small box, handing it to Rebecca.

"Oh! I have a present for you too, Pepper!" Rebecca tugged at her hand to guide her into the living room. "Come open it!"

Pepper laughed quietly as she followed the little girl into the living room, noticing the mess that had been created. Presents everywhere, wrapping paper everywhere, ribbons everywhere. Today wasn't the day to worry about the mess of the house though, today she wasn't an employee, she was just family. As she made her way into the room, she looked over to see Tony reading the instructions to one of the toys and Rhodey concentrating on a video game with as much intensity as being in a military operation.

"Good evening, children." she greeted them jokingly.

"Hey Pepper," Rhodey called out but kept his attention on the game.

"Evening," Tony flashed her a smile while turning one of the screwdrivers into the toy, trying to decipher how to make it work. "This is ridiculous,_ I_ shouldn't have to read the instructions."

Pepper chuckled and looked back to Rebecca who was pulling out a box from under the tree which had a little tag hanging off the sign that said 'To Pepper'. It was clear it has been wrapped by Rebecca and Tony with the amount of tape used to stick down the sides and the ribbon that had been atrociously tied around the box a few times.

"This ones for you!" Rebecca lifted it up and slid it onto the couch for Pepper to unwrap.

Tony stopped fidgeting with the toy and all the pieces that went with it, instead he moved a tiny bit closer to watch Pepper's reaction to her present. The ribbon was the hardest part to undo, as it had been all day, but this was because of Rebecca and Tony's inability to wrap gifts properly. Pepper tugged at the ribbon until it became loose and she sat it aside, tearing at the wrapping paper. Once that was all gone, she was left with a long box that she recognized to contain clothing. Rebecca's face lit up with anticipation as Pepper pulled off the lid and her eyes widened at the sight.

"Oh my..." she gasped.

Rebecca looked back to Tony who was smiling just as happily at Pepper's reaction. She stood up and lifted the dress out of the box and observed it in full. It was the dark green dress that Pepper had admired the other day when she had taken Rebecca shopping. It flowed down to above her ankles with such grace and class, and the shoulder straps were interwoven to create a lace back. She had loved this dress for quite some time but never treated herself to buying it, so Tony bought it for her.

"I-I can't accept this," she shook her head. "I _know_ how expensive it is, believe me."

"Then you know how deeply hurt I'll be if you_ don't_ accept it." Tony told her with a smile.

"It's too much."

Tony rolled his eyes at her excuses. "Pepper, it's Christmas."

"But-"

"Nope."

Pepper couldn't help the smile on her lips as she gave him an appreciating look. "Thank you."

"You'll look like a princess in that dress Pepper." Rebecca ran her hands over the delicate fabric, marveling at the feel. "Do you like it?"

Pepper bent down and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I love it, thank you."

Rebecca beamed at the fact Pepper liked the dress she had told her dad about. She hadn't stopped nagging her dad to get it since the night before and he actually went to the store himself to purchase it.

"Now, open yours." Pepper told her as she folded the dress carefully back into the box.

Rebecca jumped up on the couch and untied the satin bow that was around the small box Pepper handed her earlier. She lifted the lid carefully, peaking at what was underneath before throwing the lid aside.

"It's so pretty!"

In her little hands, she lifted up a necklace that sparkled in the light. It was a sliver necklace with a letter 'R' pendant hanging on the bottom, a blue and red diamond on each side of the small letter.

"Dad, look!" she held it in front of him as he observed. "Can I put it on?"

"Of course." Pepper gestured for her to come closer. She pulled the chain around her neck and secured the clip, letting the pendant fall down to hang on her chest against the green and red dress she wore. "Perfect."

Rebecca turned and hugged Pepper tightly. "Thank you Pepper."

"You're welcome."

Rhodey watched those moments unfold as he turned in his position on the floor. He saw the way Rebecca lit up around Pepper, and so did Tony. They both loved her, but only the little girl would say it. Tony, on the other hand, was too stubborn to admit anything let alone feelings for someone. He understood though, given his past, but he knew Pepper was good for them.

"So," he spoke, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "I'm starving."

* * *

Tony couldn't believe how much food they had all eaten at dinner. He and Rebecca had only eaten very little of his huge breakfast this morning since they were so preoccupied with presents, Rhodey had missed breakfast an only caught leftover, and Pepper was with her family for lunch but had barely eaten, which meant they all pigged out at dinner.

Rebecca felt sick from eating so much food and decided against riding her bike any more that evening, and so her and Rhodey continued their video fake challenge as they sat in the living room.

"You wouldn't think he was a military man." Tony joked as he sat at the bench with Pepper.

Pepper laughed. "Video games turn everyone into big kids."

It was relaxing, just sitting there together. Pepper was drinking a glass of wine that Tony had insisted they open, and she couldn't deny it was a good idea.

"Where's Happy this evening?" she asked.

"It's Christmas, no one should have to work on Christmas."

"I know it's Christmas, but he usually never passes a feast like this."

"Yeah, well, I think he has a rather nice lady friend to be with."

"Oh, I see." Pepper chuckled.

"I really appreciate you coming here today." Tony looked at her sincerely.

"I wouldn't miss it."

"You mean a lot to her, so I'm just glad that you're there for her."

Pepper smiled affectionately. "Well, she means a lot to me too."

Tony and Pepper sat quietly with one another for a while longer, enjoying their wine and each others company before being called into the living room.

"Dad! Rhodey's cheating!" Rebecca yelled.

"I am not!" Rhodey defended. "You're a sore loser."

"I didn't lose, you cheated!"

"Hey, are we playing or what? Let's get back to it."

"Don't cheat then!"

"I didn't- Tony! We need some supervision in here."

Tony and Pepper chuckled at the little argument they'd heard, grabbing their glasses and heading into the living room.

* * *

Rhodey had left around 9.30pm, officially giving up on winning the video game challenges he had set up with the five year old that just wouldn't lose. Rebecca was tired from a long day of energy. Opening presents, playing with them all, riding her bike, the excitement had taken its toll. After a quick shower, and coming out even more exhausted from the hot water, Rebecca was tucked into bed, surrounded by some of her newest stuffed animals.

"Goodnight kiddo, hope you had a good Christmas." Tony told her quietly.

"Mm hmm, the best." she smiled. "Love you daddy."

Tony bent down and kissed her forehead. "Love you too. Goodnight."

Tony walked back out into the kitchen where Pepper was preparing to leave. She had her big coat on, her present in her arms and her bag slung over we shoulder.

"I should get going, cab's waiting."

"You don't have to get a cab, you can stay here in the guest room of you want. " Tony offered.

"No, it's fine." she politely declined. "Thanks again for the dress, even though it was way too-"

"You're welcome." he interrupted.

Pepper smiled. "I got you something as well. I left it on the bench."

"Thanks." Tony nodded. "And thanks for coming as well. See you tomorrow."

"Yes, tomorrow." she began walking to the door. "Merry Christmas Mr. Stark."

Tony smiled. "Merry Christmas Ms. Potts."

When the door clicked shut, Tony walked over to the bench to see the gift she had left him. It was wrapped perfectly, as usual. He undid the ribbons and carefully ripped the paper, revealing a photo frame. Inside was a photo he thought he had lost a long time ago. It was Tony sitting out on the grass in summer, holding Rebecca above his head, both of them laughing at the sensation. It was a cute photo, and one he thought he wouldn't see again, which made him wonder how she had gotten it. Underneath, words were carved into the frame.

_"Never forget what's important."_

His lips curled into a smile at the sentiment behind those words. It was the perfect gift, and for the rest of the night he sat and stared at the photo, remembering everything about it. Without Rebecca's mother, he thought Christmas would forever be a horrible holiday. But he was wrong, this year it was a perfect Christmas.

* * *

**And that's the end of the Christmas one-shot (which turned into two), hope you guys enjoyed it! I probably won't be updating this story until after Christmas as I'm quite busy, but please continue reviewing with suggestions as I hope to make a list and fulfill each one! Thanks for reading!**

**Oh, and Merry Christmas to you all! Have a wonderful day and enjoy the holidays. x**


	11. Chapter 11

Tony walked downstairs to his workshop, already hearing the blaring music that was on it's loudest setting. Luckily Pepper wasn't home, he knew she would come down here and turn it down in an instant. He walked into the room and saw Rebecca over by the other side of the room, miming the words to the song and tapping her feet as she worked at her desk. She was obsessing over making small, compact, high potential engines for practice since she was finishing off a course at MIT.

Tony walked over to his desk and saw a tiny list from Pepper, but it had something else written on it which Rebecca must not have noticed, being too engaged in her own work.

_Mr. Stark, tread lightly, she's in a 'mood'._ _Also Obadiah called, Rhodey's stopping by this evening and there's a stack of papers that need to be signed on your-_

Tony stopped reading when it got to the actual 'to-do' part of the list, wondering what had put Rebecca into a 'mood'. She was fourteen now, and the teenage years were apparently the worst, especially for girls. He had tried to avoid many personal topics for as long as he could, Pepper gladly stepping in since she didn't want Rebecca to have to go through things on her own since her mother wasn't here and her dad was clueless.

''What're you working on?'' Tony asked casually, walking over to beside her.

Rebecca nodded toward the small engine. ''What's it look like?''

''It looks like an engine.''

''Because it is.'' she rolled her eyes.

Tony frowned. It was times like this he really noticed how alike they both were. Tony was in these types of moods on occasion, but he tried hard not to take his frustrations out on her or Pepper, but when they caught him at a bad time, this is exactly how he would act. He was too afraid to ask what was wrong, so he just walked around looking at all of the other ones she had made. She had such a short fuse when it came to patience, just like him, and when something went wrong when she was working on something, it got thrown away out of frustration and she started again from scratch.

''You want some dinner? We could order in.'' Tony suggested.

''Whatever.'' she shrugged.

''Is that a yes, or a no?'' he raised his eyebrows.

''I said _whatever_.'' she sighed.

''I heard you. I need to know what it means, yes or no.''

''It means _whatever_!'' she snapped. ''Look, I really need to get this done.''

''Sure, I get it.'' he raised his hands in defense. ''I'll just...go then.''

''Mm hmm.'' she mumbled, holding a screwdriver in her mouth. ''Turn the music up will you?''

''The music is at its highest level, Miss.'' Jarvis answered.

''Then make another level.''

Tony stopped by the door, looking over at his daughter. She looked so frustrated with herself, like nothing she was doing was turning out right. It would be a long night by the looks of things, so he decided to go order some food for them just as the music was turned up to an unbelievably loud volume. Tony didn't say anything though, he knew how stressful MIT work could be, especially when you already knew what you were doing and had to practically invent something completely new just to make yourself feel accomplished.

* * *

Hours passed and Rebecca was still downstairs in the workshop as Tony walked around upstairs wondering what to do. When he was bored, or for just no reason, he would go down to the shop and tinker with one of his cars or work on a new weapon, but he was too afraid to go down there when Rebecca was so frustrated. He knew all too well the feeling of overworking yourself and still not feeling accomplished, but he didn't know how to help her.

She didn't come up for any food, even when he walked down there and left a pieces of pizza, she wouldn't touch it. She wouldn't stop and spare a few minutes for anything, she needed to get this done and if she didn't sleep all night then that's what it would take.

Another hour passed, and Pepper returned from the office with a stack of files for Tony. She looked around the room, noticing a full box of pizza and instantly knowing something wasn't right.

''Is Rebecca still down in the shop?'' Tony nodded. ''And she hasn't eaten anything?'' Tony shook his head. ''She needs to take a break.''

''She won't stop what she's doing. There's no point trying to talk to her, I've learnt.''

''What did she say?''

Tony shrugged. ''Nothing...really.''

Pepper sighed. ''Does she need anything?''

Tony shook his head. ''No...I don't know, probably, never mind.'' he looked up at her. ''It's fine, I've been there, I know how to handle it.''

''Are you sure?''

''She's my daughter, I _know _how to handle it.'' he told her.

Pepper nodded, leaving the files on the bench. ''These need to be signed for tomorrow...but don't worry about it.''

''I'll do them.'' he told her. ''It's okay.''

Pepper sighed, seeing how frustrated he was becoming. ''Do you need anything?''

''I'm fine.''

''Will that be all, Mr. Stark?''

Tony looked over to her. ''That will be all Miss Potts.''

* * *

Tony walked down to the workshop soon after Pepper left, wondering how far along Rebecca was going. The music was making the walls shake, a new level of volume being introduced. When he opened the door, his ears instantly began to hurt at the volume, even for him, this was way too loud. He looked over to Rebecca and she looked frustrated. She had her hair pulled back into a bun to get out of her face, grease was smeared everywhere and her eyes were dark with exhaustion.

''How's it going?'' he asked, turning the music down. She didn't answer, holding a screwdriver in her mouth by it's handle, yanking at something in the engine she was working on.

She was scribbling on a piece of paper as well, and when he walked over, he could see hundreds of other similar pieces of paper scattered across the floor. She had been re-writing her equations over and over again, trying to get it perfect. It wasn't that she was wrong, all of this work was basic knowledge to her since she had been doing this sort of thing since she was young, but she wanted to take things a step further than everyone else. All the work she was doing was easy, she needed to challenge herself, and she wouldn't stop until she got it right.

''Do you know what the time is?'' he asked her.

''Nope,'' she mumbled, adjusting her desk light.

''It's almost eleven.'' he told her. ''You need to go to sleep, work on this tomorrow.''

''Nope,'' she said again. ''Can you pass me 5?''

Tony obliged, handing it to her. ''You can't do this to yourself. Believe me, I've been here in the same position-''

''Then you'll know that I can't just take a nap, I need to get it done.'' she told him. ''I'll be up later.''

''You said that earlier.''

''Well, I'm saying it again.''

Tony knew there was nothing he could say to coax her away from her work, she was in a whole other mode right now, there was no point. He ran his hands through his hair, sighing.

''I'll get you some coffee then,''

* * *

Tony opened his eyes on the living room couch, having fell asleep a few hours ago while he was waiting for Rebecca to finish downstairs. The light from the sun was coming through the windows, and the house was silent. Tony looked over to the clock to see it was only five thirty in the morning, and he yawned loudly as he sat up.

He walked over to the stairs and went up to Rebecca's room, but it was empty. He shook his head, worried what she was doing to herself, and he made his way downstairs.

Rebecca was drooped over her desk, sound asleep, as Tony walked into the room. She had grease all over her, and beside her on the desk in a box, was her completed miniature engine, her task finally completed. Tony walked over quietly and slid his arms around her, lifting her into his arms. He carried her up from the workshop and into her room, setting her down on the bed to sleep. She mumbled, waking up at the movement.

''Sorry dad,''

Tony looked down at her and pushed her hair back from her face. ''Just go to sleep.''

He walked out of the room, ordering Jarvis to adjust the heating in her room and lock down the shutters, pulling her door closed quietly behind him. He always knew she was like him, but it was at that moment that Tony really noticed just how alike they were. He vowed not to let her life spiral like his. He would never pressure her to work at Stark Industries, never criticize her work or push her in any direction she didn't want to take, instead he would simply be there for her and help her any way he could. As long as she was happy, he didn't care what she wanted to do in the future.

* * *

**I know this is a short one, but I didn't want you all to think I've forgotten about these one-shots! I've been busy writing my latest story ''We Will Avenge'' and I just haven't had time to get on and finish this small one-shot I've have half-done for a while now. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and please send me some suggestions for little scenes you'd like to see because my mind is a mess, I struggle to think of ideas! Please leave a review, and thanks for reading and continuing to stay with me! Thanks! **


	12. Chapter 12

**I think this is just a little filler chapter, I still need some ideas to write about, so please let me know what you guys want to read!**

**High School Graduation**

''What?'' Rebecca whined as she felt the side of her bed being pushed and her blankets being tugged off. ''Pepper, what are you doing?''

''Don't tell me you don't know what today is.'' Pepper continued pulling the blankets off her, ignoring her complaints.

Today was graduation, or at least it was for all of the students who were in their senior year of high school. However, Rebecca was only fourteen years old, and she didn't even properly attend high school anymore. She was studying at one of the national institutes while also taking international classes by correspondence, she didn't have time for high school and she had already exceeded all her classes a year ago, there was no need to continue when she was advancing that fast. Rebecca would be turning fifteen in a week and already had an offer from MIT which she would be accepting on her birthday, which meant she was officially leaving high school, and she was to graduate just like everyone else.

Pepper never let her miss out on anything like this. No matter how hectic her life got with the media, Stark Industries, and her studies, Pepper always made sure she got the memories of a childhood that everyone should have.

''I told you, I'm not going.'' she whined, pulling the blankets back over her face to shield her from the sunlight coming in through the window. ''Jarvis, close the shades.''

Pepper sighed and put her hands on her hips. ''Jarvis, don't shut the shades. Rebecca you have to get up now.''

''I'm not going Pepper.''

''This is your graduation!''

''But it's not _my _graduation. I'm not a senior, I don't even go to that school anymore.''

''The week's not over yet Miss Stark, you still attend high school as far as I'm concerned.'' Pepper pulled her blankets back again. ''Even your dad's going.''

''Against his will, I'm sure. He agrees with me on this, I'm not go-''

''You're going.'' Pepper told her. ''Your clothes are pressed and laid out over on your couch with your shoes. You've got an hour and a half to get ready, breakfast will be on the kitchen bench and we're leaving at exactly nine.'' she put her hands on her hips. ''Jarvis, don't let Miss Stark forget what she has to do.''_  
_

Once Pepper walked out of the room and shut the door, Rebecca rolled around in her bed groaning at the thought of having to stand in front of everyone at her school dressed in her graduation outfit, accepting certificates and celebrating with everyone. She didn't like attention, which was expected as she had grown up with the media always in her life. Just as she settled down and felt herself drifting off again, she was interrupted.

''Miss Stark, it is advisable that you prepare yourself now-''

''Mute.''

''I'm sorry, I'm instructed to follow Ms. Pott's orders indefinitely today.''

Rebecca sighed loudly, crawling out of bed. ''I hate this day.''

Pepper made her way back to the kitchen where Tony was drinking his coffee, looking over one of his weapons ideas. He was constantly working on them, and normally Pepper would be totally fine with it since it's what his job was and he did it efficiently most of the time, but today wasn't about work. Today was about celebrating something a normal family would, and although the circumstances weren't normal, Pepper was adamant that today would be a normal, work-free day.

''She doesn't want to go.'' Pepper told him.

''I know.'' he nodded. ''She doesn't like all that stuff.''

''Well it's a big deal to graduate, I don't want her to miss it.''

''If she wants to go, she'll go.'' Tony told her.

Pepper's eyes widened at his casual response. He had been like this for the past few days as Pepper tried to organize things, and she was beginning to think he really didn't care about this graduation.

''Don't you want her to go? This is something she can look back on, this is something_ every_ teenager does, do you want her to miss that opportunity?''

Rebecca walked out in the hall at this time, hearing them talking and hiding herself behind the wall to listen to them since she heard her name being brought up. She was still in her pajamas, undecided whether to go or not yet, despite Pepper's encouragement.

Tony looked over to Pepper. ''You don't think I want her to go? You don't think I want her to know how proud I am of her?'' he asked, annoyed. ''I want all of those things for her, but I know what it's like to be forced into things. I grew up doing all the same classes, and I got pushed into colleges and extra courses and got sent all over the country to boarding schools because even though I was fifteen and doing two degrees at MIT, it wasn't good enough.'' Rebecca listened in from where she was in the hall, saddened.

''I never went to a high school graduation, because high school didn't matter, it meant nothing, I didn't get the choice to go. I don't want to push her into things, as much as I want her to enjoy this part of her life, I'm not going to pressure her into doing anything she doesn't want to do. It might sound like I don't care or I couldn't be bothered to care, but I won't raise my daughter with no choices to what she does.'' he told Pepper, who now felt extremely guilty for assuming things. ''I'll be ready at nine.''

Rebecca rushed back to her room when she heard her dad begin to walk over to the hall, and she closed her door silently. The whole morning she had been so sure that she wasn't going to go to graduation, that she didn't need to, but after hearing what her dad said, she wanted to go. He never got to go to his graduation, and as much as he wanted her to go, he didn't want to pressure her. She understood how important it was to him now, and she wanted to do this for him, but also herself. She didn't want no choices in what she does, and it seemed like high school graduation was rather important.

''Jarvis, tell Pepper I'll be ready at nine.''

* * *

It was almost eleven when Rebecca's name was called onto the stage at graduation. It was a sunny, beautiful day and she was glad she chose to attend. All her friends were in the crowd with the rest of the school, and although she was the only one in her year, of her age, up on stage with all the seniors, they seemed to accept her as one of their own. They all respected her instead of shunning her, because they knew she would do great things one day, just like her dad.

Tony sat in the front row of the crowd, ignoring the stares and glances he was getting as he watched his daughter accept her certificate and awards she had gathered over the years. Pepper sat beside him, taking photos, smiling as she could tell Rebecca was having a good time. Rhodey and Happy were there too, showing their support. They were family to her, and this was the most normal family outing she was going to have.

''You got one smart girl Tony.'' Rhodey clapped as Rebecca accepted her awards.

Tony clapped as well, with a proud smile on his face as he watched his daughter look out to the cheering crowd with a grin, looking to her dad especially. Rhodey called out her name as if they were at a game, and they all clapped on with a proud smile on their face.

The ceremony went on for a while, but once it was over, all the students got back together to give each other hugs and congratulations. Tony walked over to the crowd looking for Rebecca, and saw her with all her friends who were playing with her graduation cap, telling her how they couldn't wait to graduate as well. Although he knew Rebecca always felt out of place being above her other friends, right now she looked happier than ever.

''I'm gonna miss you Bec,'' one of the girls told her, hugging her.

Rebecca hugged her back as well, smiling.

''Guys I'm not leaving the country.''

''Yet!'' her friend laughed. ''I bet you'll get an overseas scholarship. Or you'll be making billions of dollars, you could buy your own country!''

Tony stood back as Rebecca talked to all her friends, but once they were gone, he walked over to her and enveloped her in a tight hug, lifting her off the ground.

''I'm real proud of you, you know that right?'' he put her down. ''You always make me proud.''

Rebecca smiled widely. ''I always wanna make you proud dad.''

''As long as you're happy, I don't care what you do, I'll always be proud.''

It wasn't long after when Pepper came over with her camera, taking photos of Rebecca with her dad, Rhodey, Happy and her friends. Rebecca never thought she would have a normal life, especially not a normal family considering everything, but right now, she had never felt so normal. This was her family, it was all she needed.


End file.
